Exploited British sailors

I'm watching the press conference given by the 'freed' British sailors.

As expected the sailors have confirmed that their statements were not authentic and that the confessions were forced and edited to portray them in a negative light, their capture was exploited for propaganda purposes by the Iranian government and that they as well as the lone female were interrogated and subjected to countless psychological tactics at length by the Iranian Revolution Guard.

Now, I must say that I suspected that this was case.

It's unfortunate that at the end of the day Iran has come out as the 'top dog' because they chose to let them go and I can't believe like some have suggested that these sailors should be condemned for their actions i.e 'their confessions both written and on video' instead these young men and young woman should be praised for possibly averting the start of World War III.

They reamined cool under pressure. Respectful of their captors power and their 'current' place within that society and did not allow their captors to get the upper hand regardless of what tactics they used.

Because I see the world through the prism of a student of international relations and not just in black and white but countless shades of grey, I interpret the actions of the Iranians not like the average lay person who would view their actions simply as 'crazy and irrational' instead I see them as methodical and strategic because they knew exactly what steps would be taken by Blair, the British government, the British and global media and the US president.

And every one played their role to perfection.

Let's just hope that the next time, and there will be a next time, that each side can walk away proclaiming success if not, you and I could be looking at some dire, dire times.