The humiliating hostage drama that played out in Iran a couple of weeks ago was a big blow to the reputation of the British military. Many military experts came down incredibly hard on the captured British soldiers, none more so than our friend, Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters,
They hadn’t been through the Bataan Death March. They didn’t suffer four years in Changi Prison after the fall of Singapore. They didn’t spend a five-year lifetime in the Hanoi Hilton. And we have yet to see evidence of torture.
But they started criticizing their own country within days.
Tehran won this match. Hands down. Contrary to the “wisdom” of Western pundits, the hostage catch-and-release strengthened the hard-liners’ position and image, both within Iran and throughout the region. Ahmadinejad not only knew how much he could get away with, he knew when to bring down the curtain.
He worked his scam so well, I almost admire the jerk.
Michael Yon is back with a new post. He is in Basra with the Brits and he is VERY impressed with how they perform in the heat of battle,
In an operation that lasted over four hours, British forces killed 26-27 enemy and sustained no casualties. 5 Platoon fired more than 4,000 bullets before their guns began to cool, and about 15 of the enemy kills were accredited to 5 Platoon…
…These soldiers are so good that I have requested from British commanders to be allowed to stay longer.
This is a tremendous new post by Michael, complete with the amazing combat photography we have come to expect from his great work. In this battle, some of his camera equipment was ruined. Michael is an independent citizen journalist, fully funded by his readers. If you have the means, and want to support the best that citizen journalism has to offer, click here.