Sky News: British sailors were collecting intel on Iran when kidnapped
posted at 1:05 pm on April 5, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Eh. They’re pitching this as a big scoop, but it sounds like the extent of the intelligence gathering was chatting up crewmen from the Iraqi ships they inspected. There’s no claim that they actually entered Iranian waters to spy; on the contrary, Sky says they were in Iraqi waters on the day they interviewed Capt. Chris Air. Nor can I believe any of this would come as a surprise to Iran, although if the fact of their intel activities had been made public it surely would have increased public pressure on them to try the sailors. Which is precisely why Sky embargoed it until now.
Nice to see a little mud sprayed back in Iran’s face after the hosing the Brits have been taking two weeks, though.
The captain in charge of the 15 marines detained in Iran has admitted they were gathering intelligence on the Iranians.
Sky News went on patrol with Captain Chris Air and his team in Iraqi waters close to the area where they were arrested – just five days before the crisis began.
We withheld the interview until now so it would not jeopardise their safety.
And today, former Iranian diplomat Dr Mehrdad Khonsari said if the Iranians had known about it, they would have used it to “justify taking the marines captive and put them on trial”.
According to the captain of the unit itself, as stated in an interview recorded five days before they were kidnapped…
Captain Air said that fishing dhows had been robbed by Iranian soldiers on a number of occasions.
Here’s the video; what we call “intel” they apparently call “int.” Click the image to watch.
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Yeah that is why the ship was unprotected.
Hilts on April 5, 2007 at 1:10 PM
Can you imagine the American MSM embargoing a story in order to protect our troops?
CurtZHP on April 5, 2007 at 1:19 PM
But Capt. Air must not have thought the “int” a big deal, since he was talking about to a reporter. But CurtZHP was right. If it had been their choice, every American MSM outlet would have been screaming that, indeed, “a detailed campaign of spying” was taking place.
eeyore on April 5, 2007 at 1:25 PM
Am I the only one that feels like the US media would have aired this interview and be damned the consequences?
csdeven on April 5, 2007 at 1:25 PM
I guess not.
csdeven on April 5, 2007 at 1:26 PM
I seem to remember hearing that the policy is that if the US press gets ahold of something, its pretty much guaranteed they’ll print, or its to be assumed they will, consequences be damned.
Bad Candy on April 5, 2007 at 1:28 PM
Who said, “The first ammendment is not a suicide pact?”
JayHaw Phrenzie on April 5, 2007 at 1:30 PM
Does someone assume for a moment that whereever the alleged border sits, that mystical line in the sea, that you wouldn’t be gathering intel on whats happening on the other side of said line?
You also have to remember that the brits do have an official secrets act, and aren’t afraid to use it.
Canadian Imperialist Running Dog on April 5, 2007 at 1:32 PM
That was SKY News, their version of our FOX News. Now had it been the BBC, who knows? They prolly woulda blabbed it to the whole world.
Tony737 on April 5, 2007 at 1:45 PM
This just in: Gathering intel is not an act of war or a crime. It certainly is not grounds for detaining 14 marines and 1 sailor who were in the territorial waters of another country.
cmay on April 5, 2007 at 2:01 PM
I don’t think there is anything England can do to lessen their humiliation. Their marines let themselves be captured without fighting, they apologized, and they looked like their were having a wonderful time in Iran.
These marines were shameful. Their terrible behavior makes all Westerners look weak in the Middle East. One lady on the Laura Ingraham show today whose husband was in the Royal Marines said in his day this behavior would never occurred.
A lot of changes can occur when you have a liberal running a country for so long.
januarius on April 5, 2007 at 2:14 PM
Yeah, I agree with the others above – I don’t have faith that the American media would have done the same and its a real shame it’s come to that.
CP on April 5, 2007 at 2:19 PM
The Labour Government are trapped in an unreality bubble which forms the basis for all their policies.
aengus on April 5, 2007 at 2:57 PM
Amadinthehead looses seaman, Blair swallows, and Nancy comes while Jimmy watches.
All in the pursuit of intelligence?
DANEgerus on April 5, 2007 at 3:22 PM
*snicker*
csdeven on April 5, 2007 at 3:37 PM
If you listen to it in context, he isn’t talking about gathering intelligence on Iran in general. He’s talking specifically about Iranian acts of piracy and intelligence that locals would have about those acts. It’s not like they were poking around for the GPS coordinates of Ahmedinejad’s bedroom.
Blacklake on April 5, 2007 at 6:55 PM
The Capt stated what the current concern was – piracy. The primary “intelligence” would be ambush locations that threaten Iraqi fishermen, and cargo ships.
That is Iranian pirates (and terrorists), not necessarily (in their minds) Iranian military. Movement of Iranian ships and troops are already under surveillance by satellite and other methods.
What was overlooked by the British, in their concern about the pirates, is that the actions of the pirates revealed gaps in surveillance, tactics, strategy, and response.
The Iranian military used the “intel” gathered by the pirates to sneak under the “radar” and ambush the Brits.
This episode is an allegory to the threat we face. A perfect demonstration of the threat of state sponsored terrorism. The terrorist press and probe, then the enemy state exploits, using similar tactics.
Agrippa2k on April 6, 2007 at 9:40 AM
“Yes it’s true” said Captain Air. We were on an intelligence mission. “However, now that we have been released, I can categorically state that there is no intelligence in Iran.”
Khyber Pass on April 6, 2007 at 5:41 PM
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