[eDebate] iran seizes "coalition" ship

[Jack Stroube]

we are looking at a mexican standoff here.  the iranians know the administration's 
intention to overthrow khomeini.   they will not be duped by phony neogotiations 
leading up to the war based on native american and iraqi government experiences.  
some may ask why iran is flexing muscle at superior coalition forces, well, because the 
US is losing the iraq war which means that things are quite going as planned, 
unfortunately.   weaknesses in the high-technology coalition forces have been saliently 
exposed to the  that the current administration appears not to have plan for iraq.   i 
doubt that.   karl rove was a dabaiter and knew you always have to have a plan, secret or 
not.   so anyway, iran knows from its involvment in the old arms for hostages deals that 
american elections hardly depend on public opinion.   it's all about planning the right 
boost in numbers peaking at the finish line.   some might think that it's better to take 
your hits early and work through the criticisms levied minimizinig their damage so that 
in the end they don't outweigh the new, surprise boost that carries the day.

back to the topic, iran has taken enemy property that had penetrated its waters.   iran's 
denials of the military buildup on the iraqi border probably deriving from a windfall of 
chalabhi intelligence on the neocons indicating their plan not to pull out of iraq but to 
invade iran should be taken w a grain of salt.   why confess when your benefiting from 
penetration of the new american intelligence vanguard?   w the other teams plans stolen 
and laying in your hands, dallas perkins well knows, it's much easier to anticipate and 
thereby block their plan.  is that really what iran is up to, here?   jabbing w the coalition 
knowing w has his hands tied behind his back and can't really retaliate while w takes his 
foreign policy hits?  the clerics have scored again against the washington lakers taking 
coalition maps and other military papers.

http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=WSRSC
     FIPQBRLQCRBAEKSFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=5Iran Seizes Three British 
   Vessels, 8 Crewmen
   By Amir Paivar
   6-21-4
  
TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Iran     seized three British naval boats Monday, which it said had 
entered its     waters near the Iraqi border, and arrested eight British crew.     
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Britain reported it had "lost contact" with     military personnel in the narrow Shatt al-
Arab waterway between Iran and     Iraq and later said they were being held by Iran.     
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"We can confirm that eight Royal Navy personnel     from the Royal Navy training team 
based in southern Iraq have been detained     by the Iranian authorities while delivering 
a boat from Umm Qsar to Basra,"     Britain's Ministry of Defense said.     
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A Defense Ministry spokesman said Britons were in the     area helping to train Iraqi 
police.     
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While Tehran was deeply opposed to the U.S.-led war and     occupation of Iraq, there 
has been little direct conflict up to now between     the Shi'ite Muslim state and foreign 
forces along its western border.     
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The incident is likely to place further strain on Tehran's     ties with London, which last 
week joined other European nations in condemning     Iran for being less than fully 
cooperative with inspectors from the U.N.'s     nuclear watchdog.     
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"This morning three British vessels with eight crew     entered the Islamic Republic of 
Iran's waters and Iran's naval forces,     acting on their legal duty, confiscated the vessels 
and arrested the crew,"     Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a 
statement.     
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"The crew are under investigation in order to clarify     the issue," he added.     
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OIL MARKET JITTERS     
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Iran's state television said maps and weapons carried     on the British vessels were 
confiscated. A British Defense Ministry statement     said the boats were carrying only 
the sailors' personal weapons.     
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Tehran gave no indication of when or whether the British     ships and crew might be 
released.     
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The incident involving OPEC's second largest producer     added to jitters on world oil 
markets, already unnerved by Islamic militant     attacks on foreigners in Saudi Arabia 
and pipeline attacks in Iraq. Prices     of gold, seen as a safe haven in times of instability, 
rose slightly on     the news.     
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A British diplomat in Tehran said the British government     was in close contact with 
Iranian authorities in Tehran and London.     
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Revolutionary Guards spokesman Massoud Jazaeri told Reuters     Iran was determined 
to defend its territorial integrity.     
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"Anyone from any nationality entering our waters     will face the same response," Jazaeri 
said.     
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Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a branch of the armed forces     charged with defending 
Iran's Islamic revolution, earlier this month seized     some eight fishing vessels from the 
United Arab Emirates in a tit-for-tat     measure after the Emirates took an Iranian boat 
that had strayed into its     waters.     
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- Additional reporting by Parinoosh Arami in Tehran and     Kate Kelland and Peter Graff 
in London     
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Copyright ? 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.     Republication or redistribution 
of Reuters content is expressly prohibited     without the prior written consent of 
Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable     for any errors or delays in the content, or for any 
actions taken in reliance     thereon.     474634   





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