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.

Meanwhile, this is the news Iran sees fit to print

There's no news yet on the British sailors over at the official Iranian news service, only this telling headline and lede:

Rich Cultured, Civilized Iranian Nation will Overcome All Bottlenecks

Tehran (FARS News Agency)- Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the mighty and tyrannized Iranian nation insists on its nuclear rights and will manage to overcome all bottlenecks without harm by making use of its rich culture and civilization.

This move by Iran should help ease tensions: Not

The BBC reports that fifteen British sailors on routine patrol in the Persian Gulf were captured at gunpoint this morning by Iranian forces when they boarded a boat they suspected was smuggling cars.

The frigate's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said he was hoping there had been a "simple mistake" over territorial waters."There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they [British personnel] were in Iraqi territorial waters. Equally, the Iranians may claim they were in Iranian territorial waters. "We may well find that this is a simple misunderstanding at the tactical level."...

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett summoned the Iranian ambassador in London to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in an attempt to negotiate the men's release. There has been no immediate response so far from Iran, where many ministries and official buildings were closed for a public holiday.

As the BBC goes on to suggest, this couldn't have happened at a worse time:

The incident comes at a time of renewed tensions with Iran over its nuclear programme, which Western powers fear could be used to develop a nuclear weapon. British Army Colonel Justin Maciejewski, who is based in Iraq, said most of the violence against UK forces in Basra is being engineered by Iranian elements.