Well, in case you didn't think the world was unstable enough as it is, we get more signs of a potential world war:
Iran Confiscates U.K. Military Vessels
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press WriterTEHRAN, Iran - Iran confiscated three British military vessels Monday and arrested eight armed crew members, state television reported.
The three British ships entered Iranian territorial waters not far from the Iran-Iraq (news - web sites) border, the Arabic language Al-Alam television reported.
"Iranian forces confiscated the ships and eight military personnel on board," the report said.
The television report said crew members were carrying maps and weapons. It also said the ships were confiscated at about 11 a.m. between the Bahmanshir and Arvand rivers, which would put them in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway east of the Iraqi city of Faw. The broadcast gave no further details.
In London, the Ministry of Defense said it was investigating the report but did not know if it was true.
The ministry said there were no British warships operating in the Shatt-al-Arab waterway but some smaller vessels were there.
"We are assisting the Iraqi water police there so it may be one of those vessels," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity. "We don't know."
The Foreign Office said British diplomats in Tehran had been in contact with the Iranian government but it was still unclear what had happened.
Iranian-British relations have been strained in recent days, since London helped draft a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors meeting last week in Vienna that rebuked Iran for past nuclear cover-ups. Iran accused Britain of caving in to U.S. pressure.
Once again, this has not been confirmed I suspect that I will hear shouts very soon from the Neo-Cons screaming that Iran should be nuked.
My only thoughts are if the Bush Administration had not put the Arab World into the state that it is now, would this have happened just a year ago. There was a time when Iran was becoming more moderate and not holding daily US flag burnings. This is a very worrisome development if it pans out to be true.
Anyone who thinks that we have any real allies left in the Middle East is a fool of epic proportions. If just two arabic states fall to islamic fundamentalism, the whole region is going to up like a flash fire and Israel will probably just start popping off nukes.
Perhaps those wacko fudamentalist/evangelical Christians were right after all and Armageddon times are here.
Article comments
1 - simon b
From my understanding of it, the ships sailed without permission into Iranian waters...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3826179.stm
2 - Ms. Tek
No doubt! Still with tensions the way that they are at the moment, every mistake carries so much more weight!
3 - Bob A. Booey
This isn't a casus belli. Ships that sail into restricted waters without the proper flags get stopped fairly regularly. It will make a tricky little diplomatic discussion for a few days, but Iran's government will absolutely not keep the military officers as hostages or anything silly like that. There will be no war, the ships will return home within days.
This event isn't really about religion. The primary reason for war in the region would be a severe deterioriation (very possible) of the Palestinian problem through terrorism or an aggressive act by one of the nations at historical odds with Israel like Syria. The first is far more likely than the second, but the real worry is if Israel starts making more pre-emptive strikes within the borders of its neighbors and fails to resolve territory questions peacefully.
4 - NC
Amazing. I'm actually woozy at the thought of how much ignorance it would take to believe what you just wrote. Arab states are the way they are because of George Bush, and Israel -- which has had atomic weapons since the 1950s and never once used them despite constant existential threats -- is just going to start "popping off" missiles left and right. Uh huh.
I realize Eric runs an open forum here at BC but I also realize -- as do you, I assume -- that he's trying to turn this site into a successful commercial venture. Do you think you're doing him any favors by posting something as ill-informed as this? If I were a first-time visitor to Blogcritics with even a rudimentary knowledge of the Middle East and I came across your post, what impression do you think I'd come away with about the site in general?
I swear, one day there's going to be a post over here suggesting, with no satirical overtones at all, that the World Trade Center was attacked because we invaded Iraq. And that'll be my last visit to BC, if I haven't quit reading it already.
5 - Ms. Tek
Well, don't let the door hit you on the ass as you walk out.
It has already been suggested (several times over) that Iraq was behind the World Trade Center... I don't know how stupid THAT is.
"Arab states are the way they are because of George Bush, "
Apparently you don't read up as much history as you like to think you do. The arab states have been around a lot longer than George W. Bush.
And if Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq were to all go fundamentalist, the Israelis would get the itchy finger. No one in that region wants them there and once a few nations get the gumption to really say "you know what... we have a right to do what we want. Fuck the US." Or say the Islamic militants gain control in those countries, what do you honestly think is going to be one of the first things they are going to do? What choice will Isreal have?
And if you think that there are no Islamic militants that want to have control over the oil lines, more fool you. This world isn't about who has the most wealth anymore- but who controls the power. No oil, no heat, no car, no TV, no internet, etc... etc... The world would get awfully pissed if this happened and there will be more war.