BLINKERED THINKER

Radio host and columnist Dennis Prager puts forth his case, available at Townhall.com, that Great Britain is “great” no longer, in part because of its soft–glove response to the Iranian government’s kidnapping of 15 of its sailors and marines, both before and after the release of the service members. Britain’s meek response to the kidnapping itself is understandable: the war in Iraq is highly unpopular in Britain; there is a substantial Muslim population in the country—one million in London alone; Britain’s armed forces have suffered enormous cuts both in personnel and materiel, making a potential war with Iran appear unfeasible; and the candle has burnt low on Tony Blair’s government and will be extinguished in a matter of weeks.

Dennis Prager is pained at what transpired followed the release of the victims:

…[W]hat really makes one weep for Britain’s lost greatness is what has happened since the sailors and marines were released.

The UK Minister of Defense, Labor MP Desmond Browne, announced that the released sailors and marines were all free to sell their stories to the media, “as a result of exceptional media interest.” If this is not unprecedented, it would certainly be difficult to find anything similar in the annals of military history. Some of the captured sailors and marines have already earned large sums of money. The Guardian newspaper said the one woman who had been captured, Faye Turney, agreed to a deal with The Sun and ITV television for approximately $200,000. (American soldier Jessica Lynch, who was captured when her Army convoy was ambushed in 2003, received a $500,000 advance for her book, “I Am a Soldier, Too.” But that was a book published later and she had never charged the news media when interviewed by them.)

When I learned that the victims were free to peddle their stories and were in fact doing so, I was discomfited, for it seemed so opportunistic on their part, especially since none of them appeared to have been physically traumatized or suffered extreme privation at the hands of their captors. And when TV cameras showed the about–to–be–released sailors and marines acting as though the Iranians were their new summer–camp buddies, I as well as many people surmised that the British resistance to Stockholm Syndrome is practically nil and that the “stiff upper lip” of the Brits has gotten a bit flabby of late.

As to the profiteering by the Royal sailors and marines: I fully sympathize with families who lost their loved ones while fighting in Iraq, for whom their are no paid interviews, TV movies, or book deals. They are the (largely) forgotten victims—except to loved ones. Test yourself: How many fallen dead Americans in Iraq can you name? My hunch is not more than two or three, unless you knew them personally. Those killed in action will be just names engraved on some future war memorial. There is an obvious financial inequity when one compares the released hostages new–found bounty to the minimally–compensated (and anonymous) killed or maimed in Iraq.

Yet, we should be hesitant to make a blanket condemnation of all military personnel with a marketable story, for many servicemen in prior conflicts have not only profited monetarily from their military endeavors and/or misadventures, both here and abroad. A brief sampling: After the 1st Gulf War, both General Schwarzkopf, Jr. and General Colin Powell became millionaires following lucrative book deals through which they told of their wartime deeds; no war, no book deal or, in the case of Gen. Powell, no Secretary of State position. George Patton, the famous WWII general published “War As I Knew It.” Dwight D. Eisenhower published “Crusade in Europe” in 1948, four years before he became president. Our most prolific president, Theodore Roosevelt, was not reticent about writing about his and his men’s bravery during the Spanish–American War. Abroad, we can point to two examples of brave fighting men who profited handsomely afterwards when they published their war memoirs: Winston Churchill and Napoleon. Churchill in particular was constantly writing, often about war, in books, magazines, and newspapers. In addition, he made a substantial income from public speaking both in Britain and the US.

So let’s not be so quick to take the British sailors and marines to task for cashing in on their 15 minutes. The aforementioned men were not simply writing and speaking about war to provide firsthand accounts for future historians, they also had their bank accounts in mind. And I, as a sedulous reader of history, am glad that the former war leaders did so.

UPDATE: Today’s Washington Post writes that Britain’s Defense Ministry has reversed itself and will not permit its recently released (military) hostages to sell their stories. The story is here.