>> Er, they are there under a UN mandate, UNSCR 1723.
>
> But the grounds for scepticism are historic.
Hey, I'm not the one being naive here. I know a thing or two about a thing or two. I'm a big fan of the unraveling of cover stories just like any teenager ever was. It's a game that always gets played, and sometimes people get pinched.
I'm just pointing out to Doug that that patrol was there -- and has been there for quite some time -- performing a legitimate mission that's sanctioned by the UN. Is it a great opportunity for misadventure? Of course. Are the stakes higher these days because of the looming nuclear issue? Absolutely. Can we expect things to play out -- like Russia toning down the proposed UK statement by the Security Council? You bet.
But any amount of "rightness" that Iran might have in making their point had went straight out the window when they captured the patrol. The fact that they continue to hold them just makes it worse. So I'm back to Yoshie:
>> The Iranians certainly are in the right ...
Which she has soundly convinced me of :-)
/jordan