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Yeah, and we would have a lot more troops if our American cousins could just cut down on this 'blue on blue' business...



Could you translate? What is blue on blue?



Blue on Blue is fratracide. We kill our own side re: Pat Tillman. What he is referring to is that during the second Gulf War, an A-10 Warthog mistakened a British Unit as Iraqis and rolled in hot, killing one Brit.



That's the most recent incident, but there have been plenty of others too.

Getting back on topic, I have to say I'm rather puzzled by Iran's actions. Without this incident, public support for military action against Iran (whether it be British led or Britain lending a supporting role to the US or the Israelis) would have been extremely low, given the outright lies peddled as justification for invading Iraq and the volatile and bloody fuckup the occupation has now become. Dare I say it, but there may have even been some measure of public sympathy for or solidarity with the Iranians.

Now, having made this boneheaded move and given three different geographical locations for the capture (the first two being outside of Iranian territorial waters ), the Iranians follow it up by forcing the female squaddie to don a hijab headscarf and read out an 'apology'. I'm sure you can imagine how this has played out with the British public (and indeed many people around the world)...Iran is now public enemy number 1.

It's the antithesis of a public relations victory, and instead more like PR suicide, but then we've come to expect this sort of irrational behaviour from that part of the world...