Posted on 07/05/2004 4:18:22 PM PDT by Pokey78
How does this compare to the China-Spy Plane incident? I recall there was plenty of heated rhetoric but I don't recall the US making China pay in any way. Am I forgetting something?
More contrast than comparison. The Chinese had our guys for about 11 days, and thumbed their noses at us because they knew we really didn't have any military options. But the Iranian spit back the Brits after only 2 days. I think its more likely private pressure from the Brits and U.S. caused such a quick release rather than the Brits giving Iran the full Monica. Steyn appears to assume that the lack of a strong public stance meant that their stance in private was equally wimpy. I don't buy that. And to the extent anyone assumes we didn't back the Brits, I don't buy that either.
! bump pmub !
Ping
The Tories wouldn't have done anything either. What did you expect? The US didn't take any military action against the N. Koreans when they captured the USS Pueblo spy ship and shot down the EC-121 with the loss of all its crew. The N. Koreans still have the Pueblo in their custody. The Iranian incident became a diplomatic incident. No military action was ever going to be taken.
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