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British troops fed Iran’s propaganda

“Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”

— Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson

First they surrendered without a fight.

Days later, several openly confessed to operating in Iranian waters, a transgression their own government still insists they never committed. Then they thanked their Iranian captors for their “forgiveness.”

Finally, after smiling and waving for Tehran’s propaganda cameras upon their release, some even cheerfully carted goodie bags of CDs, sweets and pistachio nuts home to London.

The actions of most, though not all, of the 15 British Royal Marines and sailors seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard last month and released just before Easter leave us perplexed and troubled.

While details of their capture and captivity remain unclear, this much is: This is not the way American soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines would have behaved.

The U.S. Code of Conduct, a presidential order established after the Korean War, is clear in regard to confessions and propaganda:

“When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.”

British rules on prisoner conduct were less stringent.

“I think our guidance to anyone in that position would be to say what they want you to say. Let’s not be silly about it,” said Adm. Sir Alan West, the former First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy. “Don’t tell them secrets, clearly, but if they tell you, ‘Say this,’ well if that’s going to get you out, then do it. It means absolutely nothing.”

In a sense, that’s true. But one wonders what the great Nelson would have thought.

Those confessions, forced or otherwise, undermined the foreign policy and the integrity of their country and its government, while playing into the hands of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his efforts to make his own country appear powerful in the face of an overly aggressive foreign power.

That British troops could be so weak was viewed throughout the Middle East as humiliating to Britain and encouraging to an increasingly emboldened and dangerous Iran.

Six years ago this month, 24 American sailors were held captive by Chinese authorities after their EP-3E spy plane collided with a People’s Republic fighter jet while operating near the Chinese coast. Forced to make an emergency landing on Chinese soil, they were held captive for 11 days.

They suffered threats of endless imprisonment and repeated demands for public apologies. But they held fast.

Shane Osborn, then a 26-year-old lieutenant and aircraft commander, said he and his crew resolved to hold out as long as humanly possible.

“The blood was not going thin on my watch,” he told Military Times without bravado April 5, the day the Brits were released. “We were nowhere near our breaking point. We still had a lot of fight left in us.”

Unlike their British brethren, they had truly done their duty.