What to think of the British sailors...

Thomas Lippman of the Middle East Institute has this to say:

I was at the airport in Hanoi, North Vietnam, when the last American POW's from the war were released into US custody. These were men who had been shot down in their aircraft, mostly, and thus many of them were badly wounded when captured. They had spent many months in captivity with no idea what was going on in the war or when they would be released, if ever. Some were beaten, a few were tortured. They were in a hostile country where there was no possibility of diplomatic contact with U.S. government representatives. And how did they behave? At no time did any of them confess, apologize, or admit error on video. At no time did they blame their own country or denounce the war. They wrote no subservient letters. When released, they did not smile at or shake hands with their captors. They were wearing clothing given to them by the North Vietnamese because it was the only clothing they had -- that was the only point on which they conceded to their captors -- and they stripped off these garments as soon as they were airborne. Ask yourselves how the behavior of those British sailors and marines measures up against this.