444 lessons

For those who are more than a quarter-century old the number 444 should mean something. The utter humiliation of the United States led by the worst President (and ex-President) in history by a band of Islamofascist mullahs. That's how many days 52 American hostages spent in captivity before they were released as President Reagan took the oath of office. Khomeini was wise, he pushed it as far as he could and no farther.

It is unlikely that the current hostage crisis will drag on even a tenth as long but this whole affair is quite distressing:

- The mullahs have put forth a test of strength and so far the Western response has been worse than flaccid.

- The decline of Great Britain is manifest. 25 years ago the British, baited similarly, retook the Falkland Islands. Now, against an incomparably more evil foe the reaction is muted and not a few British are consumed by self hate and the idea that really this is all Bush's fault.

- Where is the European outcry?

I think this will end in a few days or a week or two when the mullahs decide that they have humiliated the British enough and release the hostages for which they will pay NOTHING. Perhaps their price is the earlier then planned resignation of Tony Blair. The only silver lining in this is that a success in this adventure will embolden them more than it should...

A few good pieces:

Daft Rules of Engagement from EU Referendum - it seems that had any Royal Marine fired a weapon they would have faced a court martial.

Victor Davis Hanson laughs at the vaunted "soft power" of the EU.

Mario Loyola thinks there's more here than meets the eye.