Blog of the Spring Jules Crittenden has done an excellent job of pulling together commentary from a number of sources that sums up reaction to the release of the 15 kidnapped Britons. This editorial is from the Daily Telegraph:
[T]he satisfaction of a diplomatic challenge eventually handled with skill is soured by the string of psychological humiliations that Britain has suffered.
First, there is the apparent incompetence of the Royal Navy in providing insufficient protection to lightly armed inflatables, at a time when relations between Iran and the West were particularly volatile following the imposition of UN sanctions. Second, the seized personnel lost no time in admitting to having trespassed and in apologising for their mistake. The old military practice of giving name, rank and number, and no more, has obviously been abandoned.
Third, the d
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