I notice that AOTW there appears to be absolutely nothing in the state-run Tehran Times about the British sailors recently captured by Iran. (There is, however, an awesome headline that I have used as the title of this post.) Perhaps that’s some evidence that no one on that side has figured out what the fuck they’re trying to accomplish here, or, relatedly, how to spin what has already happened.
Notice that if Iran had simply released the sailors two days ago, they would have made their point brilliantly. By forcing Britain to talk tough, they’ve now maneuvered themselves into a corner, since the tough talk from Britain means that concessions from Iran at this point will make Iran look weak. Can’t have that, can we?
Anyway, all of this is just another excuse for me to observe that in both private life and international diplomacy, one of the most valuable skills is knowing how to push back without escalating.
upyernoz | 29-Mar-07 at 10:01 pm | Permalink
it’s a holiday in iran right now, a lot of newspapers stop printing between march 21 to april 2 for norouz.
my arabic tutor heard an NPR story about it today. which makes sense, because i was just told today that no one was in the office to handle my tourist visa application until next week.
Chris | 29-Mar-07 at 11:12 pm | Permalink
Hrmmm. That makes sense. I wonder if the government’s entire international diplomacy team is out too.