I understand the British army's desire to rescue their men, but this could turn into a disaster:
British tanks have smashed the walls of an Iraqi prison to free two undercover British soldiers seized by Iraqi forces.
An Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says half-a-dozen tanks have crushed the walls of the jail in the southern city of Basra.
British troops then freed the soldiers.
[...]
The Interior Ministry official says dozens of Iraqi prisoners at the jail have also escaped.
[...]
The two British soldiers, who are said to be working undercover and in civilian clothes, were arrested by Iraqi forces following a shoot-out in Basra.
In the shoot-out, at least two Iraqis were killed.
I still don't know the details of the original incident, but clearly the Iraqi government thought the British soldiers were in the wrong. For the British to then knock down the jailhouse walls to free them, without, apparently, even really attempting a diplomatic solution (I have no direct information in this regard, but there hasn't really been enough time to attempt a diplomatic solution.) could sour relations.
I hope I'm wrong.
Update: This story, from the Guardian, of all places, makes the whole thing sound much more justified. According to quotes in this story, local judges had already ordered the men released and those orders were being ignored.
Unfortunately, none of that changes the fact that we could have a disaster in the making here.
Comments