What Would Winston Churchill Do?

When the enemy comes after you, FIGHT!

I've been reluctant to criticize our British allies for the way they've handled the hostage crisis with Iran. But I'm not at all reluctant to criticize the British rules of engagement which prevented British naval personnel from defending themselves.

Conservatives often think "What would Reagan do?" when considering a course of action. We might ask our British friends, "What would Winston Churchill do?"

After the disaster in France in 1940 and following the miraculous withdrawal of British forces from Dunkirk, the fear was of an invasion of England by Germany. Prime Minister Churchill went to the House of Commons and said:

We Shall Fight on the Beaches
Prime Minister Churchill
June 4, 1940
House of Commons

...we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Notice he didn't say "we shall surrender, then propose negotiations..."

And yes, "the New World, with all its power and might" still stands ready to "step[] forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old" should that be required once again.

Ralph Peters, whose columns I regularly enjoy in the New York Post, wrote this week "Where's Winston?" and has some rather strong words for what the Labour government under Tony Blair has done to the once proud Royal Navy.

Peters also has some strong words for the British hostages. Comparing them to U.S. Marines: "Our Marines would have fought to begin with. Taken captive by force, they would've resisted collaboration. To the last man and woman. You could put a U.S. Marine in a dungeon and knock out his teeth, but you wouldn't knock out his pride in his country and the Corps. "Semper fi" means something."

No U.S. Surrender (at least until Dems get their way)

A story you might not have heard about had a different ending than the British saga. American troops were led into a trap by Iranian units along the Iraqi border last September. The apparent goal was to take U.S. troops hostage.

But the Iranians didn't count on U.S. troops to fire back. Hence, no hostage drama and no story. That was a "good news" story in Iraq. I'm not surprised if you had not heard about it.

And I'm gratified by the statement this week of U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Mullen: "We need to be mindful of not just protecting our units but ensure that our people are protected when they are off their ship and then, we have procedures in place to ensure that something like that doesn't occur to American sailors."

After all, if in "God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old" we're going to have to make sure we don't find ourselves in a similar situation.