Take a breath

According to The Independent (UK) for Tuesday, the confrontation between the UK and Iran over the capture of 15 British sailors nearly two weeks ago is heading toward a diplomatic resolution based on a de facto, but not formally acknowledged, prisoner exchange.

The first sign of a breakthrough yesterday was the release of Jalal Sharafi, an Iranian diplomat abducted from the streets of Baghdad two months ago, whom Iran claimed had been seized by Iraqi commandos controlled by the US. At the same time, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said the Iraqi government was "intensively" seeking the release of five Iranian officials captured in a US helicopter raid on a long-established Iranian liaison office in the Kurdish capital of Arbil in January.

Another good sign is the cooling of the rhetoric. Tony Blair talked about the next two days being "fairly critical" and how he was "not looking for confrontation." For it's part, Iran, which maintains the ship was in Iranian waters when it was seized, initially referred to "aggression" and hinted broadly that the sailors might be tried for espionage. Now, it's apparently referring to the two boats as having "strayed" into its waters.

And both sides now talk about wanting a diplomatic solution. Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council in Iran, even suggested that direct talks aimed at a settlement are already going on. The UK downplayed the statement but didn't deny it.

It'll be interesting to see how this sits with our domestic talking head warmongers; on Sunday, the Fox All Stars were oh my so upset with Blair's lack of bloodlust. My favorite excerpt (all praise to Digby for the transcript) was this gem from Mort Kondracke:

I've got to say, Tony Blair is not exactly acting like Margaret Thatcher would act under these circumstances. He's acting like Jimmy Carter would act.

Oh, slammer! Acting like Jimmy Carter? What a terrible thing to say! What's more, panelists said, the British were following a "wimpy" policy of going to the UN, which is "a strategy of 'strong letter to follow.'"

Instead, they suggested "closing" an Iranian port, perhaps using US ships - because Bush should have told Blair we're ready and willing for a military strike if Blair wanted one - and blocking ships from leaving the Persian Gulf. But however it'd be done, they cried, it "is the time to put the whammy" on this "terrorist organization," this "outlaw rogue regime." As long as, of course, someone else's blood gets shed in doing it.

It's really sad when a bunch of "wimps" and a collection of "outlaw" "terrorists" appear to be displaying more maturity and sanity than the collected wisdom of a panel of leading pundits.