RISE LIKE LIONS: NAME, RANK AND SERIAL NUMBER

Monday 9 April 2007

NAME, RANK AND SERIAL NUMBER

Previous entries in this blog have covered the Iranian hostage crisis which saw British Naval serviceman captured and held hostage for some time. Though this issue was resolved to the great satisfaction of all concerned, it has taken a dreadful path. I have decided too withdraw the term ”hostage” due to footage recently seen on TV of our personnel, and substitute it with the word “guest”. Clearly this was not your classic “prisoner of war situation”, with three course meals, table tennis, laughing and carrying on etc. These were images more akin to Butlins than hostages of a hostile regime. To compound matters, when the Naval forces were returned to Britain from their holiday (sorry, crisis) they have been given permission to sell their stories to the papers. Now hold on there, something appears to be very wrong here! Not only did these “soldiers” actually collaborate with the Iranians, but they are now allowed to make money from it! Whilst this whole situation reeks of Labour PR, perhaps somebody could tell me whether the families of four soldiers killed in Basra at the same time as our other “heroes” were released will get the same media cheque book treatment? I suspect not. There was a time when capture by opposing forces meant only one thing: name, rank and serial number. Now it means money, publicity and Max Clifford. Whilst table tennis can be construed as torture by many people who hate the sport, its not torture. Thousands of Britsh and Allied servicemen and women were capatured and tortured by the Gestapo in the Second World War, but they never cracked. Perhaps we were made of sterner stuff then, or perhaps we have simply watched too many episodes of “Allo Allo” and think that war is just a joke. What ever the reason, I feel great shame at the antics of these people, and yet very proud of the thousands of others who remain the unsung heroes of this futile war.