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Monday, 02 April 2007 |
The Sun
The Sun Says
 MARGARET Thatcher and Margaret Beckett share a first name but that’s all.
Twenty-five years ago, Lady T dispatched a Task Force to reclaim the Falklands. British citizens had been captured and our territory invaded — and she did not hesitate.
Compare that with the feeble response of her namesake, the Foreign Secretary, over Iran.
British troops are imprisoned after being kidnapped in Iraqi waters and sickeningly paraded for propaganda.
“We continue to express our willingness to engage in dialogue and discussions with Iran,” says Ms Beckett.
“I think everyone regrets that this position has arisen. What we want is a way out of it.”
Iran’s president must be shaking in his boots with laughter. Remember, this is the same woman currently begging our old Argentine foes to kiss and make up even though they still lay claim to the Falklands.
No one of sound mind is arguing that Britain should free our servicemen from Iran by force.
But it’ll take more than Ms Beckett or Douglas Alexander — the Transport Secretary, no less — wittering on about “international feeling” being against Iran. Ahmadinejad doesn’t care about his unpopularity.
Iran’s economy is in disarray. Further sanctions could cripple it. They are our only realistic weapons and we should use them. It need not be a public pronouncement — a quiet, menacing word should do it.
As Teddy Roosevelt, the former U.S. President, once said: The key to diplomacy is to speak softly and carry a big stick.
We appear to have mislaid the stick. |
