[andrewb]

Originally Posted by jambutty

There speaks the voice of a veteran sailor whose knowledge of naval warfare could be written on a pinhead using a thick, felt tipped pen. Have you ever seen a British warship live? When did you serve on such a vessel?

The rules of engagement for the British armed forces are the same today as they have been for hundreds of years. If threatened or attacked defend yourself unless facing overwhelming forces where to fight would lead to unnecessary loss of life. This option was last selected in the Falklands when the outpost of marines were outnumbered and outgunned so they, quite rightly surrendered but only after the Governor told them to.

A handful of gunboats armed with large calibre machine guns is hardly an overwhelming force of a modern British frigate.

You can call me a veteran if you wish, but my views were the same as the commander from the 2004 incident.

I'm just glad you were not in charge or we might be engaging in a war with Iran right now.