THE problem when you punch above your weight is that sometimes you get hit and with little to fight back with the best thing to do is throw in the towel. This is what Britain must do in the stand-off with Iran; apologise, get the 15 sailors and Royal Marine Commandos back and accept that the days when it was one of the world's policemen are over. This is not new; the writing was on the wall after the Suez crisis in 1956.
Britain should be congratulated for punching quite effectively above its weight ever since but sometimes you just have to accept what is very clear; Britannia no longer rules the waves. There is no other option, I am afraid to say. Once the release is secured then a full investigation is needed. This episode is not one of the Royal Navy's finest hours. There are plenty of unanswered questions and perhaps Britain's rules of engagement need to be studied again to ensure that this does not happen again. One U.S. officer in the region asked why your guys didn't defend themselves... This question has to be asked. It maybe the Americans just being gung ho but the facts speak for themselves; the Iranians may have had heavily armed speed boats but the Royal Navy had a helicopter in the air and a 4'000 ton frigate nearby along with two launches full of elite Royal Marine Commandos. Once the service people are home then all these questions can be answered. But at this moment in time Britain just simply has to face facts. It's not nice but unfortunately the other player has all the aces.
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