to scotty:
“Why did the gutless wonder commanding the nasty-looking destroyer the Brit. sailors came from not interdict the Iranian gunboats and nip the problem in the bud? So many commanders these days (US as well) are simply bureaucrats in uniform and not real military people. Thank God for Portreus.”
The British navy is obviously under rules of engagement that prevented the captain of the destroyer from firing on the Iranians. The USS Cole was under similar rules of engagement which allowed a small boat to come right up to its hull.
Rules of engagement are set by the military in order to enforce POLITICAL instructions. When the British navy was the fearsome force to be reckoned with that it was up until the labor party dismatled it, British fleet officers often ignored the instructions from politicians, in one well known case in WWII a British fleet officer ignored a direct order to withdraw his ships, which were evacuating British soldiers from Crete, and leave the soldiers (many of whom were wounded) on the shore, due to German planes which were bombing and strafing his ships. The fleet officer replied to this order “Sir, it takes 3 years to build a ship, it takes 300 years to build a tradition, I will not abandon these British soldiers to the Germans, we will not leave until every single one of them has been evacuated, come what may”. Unfortunately for the British people, their peace loving labor party threw away 300 years of tradition that was built with the blood and courage of people like this admiral, when they dismantled the British navy, the British people are now paying a very heavy price.
