The US has now joined in the row between Britain and Iran, over the 15 British Royal Navy personnel being held by Iran. Iran claims they entered Iranian waters illegally, and has demanded that Britain apologize. Presumably, in their response to Iran, Bush and Blair are seeking to uphold the fine principles and excusable behavior that their governments have displayed in Iraq, Guantanamo, etc. I'm not a big Monty Python fan, but here's Terry Jones in The Guardian:
...compelling poor servicewoman Faye Turney to wear a black headscarf, and then allowing the picture to be posted around the world - have the Iranians no concept of civilised behaviour? For God's sake, what's wrong with putting a bag over her head? That's what we do with the Muslims we capture... Then it's perfectly acceptable to take photographs of them and circulate them to the press because the captives can't be recognised and humiliated in the way these unfortunate British service people are.
...The true mark of a civilised country is that it doesn't rush into charging people whom it has arbitrarily arrested in places it's just invaded. The inmates of Guantánamo, for example, have been enjoying all the privacy they want for almost five years, and the first inmate has only just been charged.
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