Fate and the arrogance of the mullahs of Iran has handed Tony Blair the opportunity to stamp himself as one of Great Britain's great prime ministers.   All he has to do is turn his back on the standard spinelessness of his own LIberal party and the European Union and rediscover the national character which made Great Britain the world's preeminent power for 200 years.    His policy should be expressed in one phrase:  "my sailors and marines returned uharmed now or the mullahs dead and buried."

Iran kidnapped 15 British sailors and marines on a routine patrol in the Persian Gulf.   The British were clearly in Iraqi waters when abducted.   This is an act of war and a deliberate provocation against Britain, America's strongest partner in Iraq.    There should be no negotiation or temporizing with the Iranians:  what is absolutely demanded in this situation is a plain and simple ultimatum to the Iranians to return the British personnel within time certain.   If the deadline should pass without satisfaction then Britain should declare war on Iran and proceed to destroy Iranian military assets wherever they are found.     As a good friend and partner, the United States should certainly render such assistance as requested by Britain in operations against Iran.  (It would be a pleasure.)

Will Blair seize the chance to revive the patriotic ghosts of the past in Britain?   Probably not.   The mullahs have calculated that Blair is a lame duck, and lacks the political statue or will to react aggressive to the kidnapping of the British personnel.   Only today the Iranians taunted Britain with the comment that the British personnel might be released if the British would admit they were in Iranian waters.    The Iranian tactics should be familiar to Americans,  as they are right out of the playbook used during the hostage crisis of Jimmy Carter's last years as president.    The Iranians knew then that Carter was weak sister and wouldn't violently react, and they believe the same of Blair.    Time will validate their appraisal.

None is so sweet an aroma to the bully and the terrorist as the odor of weakness.    If a Churchill or William Pitt were prime minister, this incident would not have happened.  

If Britain caves in and grovels before Iran,  it is only a matter of time before the mullahs move against Americans.   Afterall,  with a defeatist Democrat Congress lying siege to President Bush,  the perception from Tehran will be that the president, much like Mr. Blair,  will lack the political power or will to react punitively against Iran.     Of such perceptions are tragic miscalculations made.

Evil never retreats on its own, it must be forcefully confronted.   Make no mistake, the mullahs of Iran are evil and they will not refrain from doing evil things until made to understand that the price is too high.   This is a lesson of history which for some reason must be relearned from generation to generation.