The loose upper lip

Where art thou, mine merry olde England of yore?

By Ross Lingenfelder
From the May 2007 Print Edition

            For centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, the nations of Europe battled for military supremacy over the Continent. Charles the Hammer, grandfather of Charlemagne, fought off the invading Muslim conquerors at the Battle of Poitier (Tours) of 732. The Spanish sailed the seas, settled the New World, and secured great wealth for the mother country. In 1588, under Queen Elizabeth I, the English navy asserted its dominance in Europe when it destroyed the premier Spanish Armada. Admiral Lord Nelson crushed 27 of the 33 French-Spanish fleet, losing none of the 22 British ships, in the decisive 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. Until World War II, the British fleet was the unquestioned supreme naval power in the world.

            That, however, was in the past. Now, history will forever remember March 23, 2007, when 15 sailors in the Royal Navy surrendered to the dinghy boats of the navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

             As recently as 1982, under the leadership of the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, the British navy proved its willingness to protect its sailors when the HMS Conqueror sunk the Argentinean ARA General Belgrano. In later interviews, Prime Minister Thatcher defended her decision to sink the Belgrano, saying that the ship was “a danger to our boys,” and that she “would do the same again.”

            Yet now, even after the jihadist attacks in July 2005 that killed 52 in London, the British government insists on diplomatic negotiations with Islamic radicals.

For two weeks, the world endured this hostage crisis. Some thought the United Kingdom would strike Iran; others could only pray that it would. As we listened to the rhetoric and watched the humiliation of the once-great British Navy, it soon became obvious that Britain had lost its dignity.

Iran appeared to be in full control over its illegal action against the British. Prime Minister Tony Blair repeatedly requested the safe and speedy return of the sailors, but not once did he even hint that the British would retaliate with force. At the same time, the Holocaust-denying, homosexual-murdering, terrorist-sponsoring president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made demands of the United Kingdom while humiliating its sailors.

             When Iran announced the release of the British captives, it claimed the action as a “gift” to celebrate the birth of Islam’s prophet Mohammed and the Easter resurrection of Jesus Christ. While there is evidence that the USS Nimitz’s deployment to the Persian Gulf might have influenced Iranian military leaders, the rhetoric maintained that Iran’s action was a gift and a gesture of religious devotion. The world saw the British at the mercy of the Islamic Republic.

The list of frightening claims from Ahmadinejad is too long to detail, but Holocaust denial, destruction of a nation, and nuclear weapons development are among his plans for Iran. Iran has not respected regulations as called for by the Non-Proliferation Treaty. After the capture of the British military personnel, the United Kingdom had every right to launch tactical strikes against Iran for its action. Britain had the support of the international community, including that of the U.S. president; yet Blair refused his duty to protect the United Kingdom’s military.

Iran proved for all to see that the British can be bullied at will: Jihadists, you may attack the United Kingdom as you wish; it will not retaliate with anything but words.

 The West has demonstrated its weakness to jihadists many times. Europe refuses to demand that Muslim immigrants integrate. Instead, they insist that “multiculturalism” is Europe’s destiny, and that it would be “offensive” to require immigrants to assimilate into society. This fallacious mentality is suicide for Europe.

Already Iran refuses inspections by the nuclear powers. We have not yet forced the Iranians to comply. They are emboldened by our meaningless rhetoric. Have nuclear achievements in Iran slowed down or accelerated in the past two years? They now know that they can commit acts of war and face only empty rhetoric. If Britain will not respond to a war crime, why would the West attack for breaking international law?

Is there any indicator that the United Kingdom is still a strong, proud nation? Under Blair, it has proved itself a degenerate, dying society. The United Kingdom is removing troops from Iraq, and the British navy is decommissioning about 40 ships in the next two years. When these ships are retired, the British navy will be about the size of the Belgian navy. There are no plans to rebuild.

We must remember that this capture by the Islamic Republic of Iran is one short incident in a very long history of British seafaring. Is the Royal Navy virile or degenerate? A once-great nation somehow forgot its once-great symbol of eminence.

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