Lets make Great Britain great again. Stand up for ourselves. lets kick every iranian out of our country. Will Blair have the guts doubt it. Why should we give in. We need to show this people that we can stand up and fight. it is about time, the UK stood up for its people.

dave, liverpool, uk

Do you think they would have done that to American sailors?I don't think so. We would have rained hell on them. And they know it.

ice man, staten island, New York, USA

Why is it that the media are concentrating almost solely on the plight of the female sailor. There are 14 other British military captives with her!

MFH, Reading,

> It's about ime we took some strong action, showed the world what > the British are made of,

and what are you made up of :)) your prime minister Tony Blair does his best to appear a well mannered butler of George W Bush. Seamen(women) of your Royal Navy can be seen gruelling, I wonder what would they have done if they were 'Abu Ghraibed'.

arbitguy, atlanta, USA

While it is tragic that this situation has occurred and I trust that it can be resolved satisfactorily, nevertheless my thoughts are with this female Marine's three-year-old daughter. The longer Faye Turney is away from her daughter Molly, the child's upset will eventually turn to resentment against her mother once she returns home, due to the absence. A mother has a special bonding love that father's cannot hope to match, even if you have the best Dad in the world. It calls into question: should full-time women in demanding careers such as those in the Armed Forces become mothers? The same could be said of women in other demanding positions who choose to become mums. The child should come first.

Ashley DICKENSON, Carshalton Beeches, England

Go get them England - don't let them sit there for 400+ days as Carter did in '79. This is an act of terrorism. So many of the American hostages of "79 have identified Ahmadinejad as one of their captors. He was quoted as saying "these pigs and dogs should be executed" by the hostages who spoke Farsi. Don't let the media or having to be "politically correct" distort what is really going on here. Be strong England - we are with you.

Kristina, Sarasota, FL USA

Give the sailors a tourist view of Iran; stamp their passports and then deport them. Don't make a fuss..

AJ FAL, New Britain , Connecticut USA

The whole situation is very disturbing for me. The Iranians are taunting us, trying to get us to do something about them. But what if what we do doesn't work? What if the UN Security Council doesn't back us in a resolution proposing sanctions? We will look like fools and our respectability as a world power will dimish even further.

It's about ime we took some strong action, showed the world what the British are made of, and use Iran as an example. People will support us if we do go to war. This is a situation where that is justiified.

Michael, Oxford, United Kingdom

It baffles me that people talk about the middle easterners as being anything less than trouble for a long time. What short memories people have. Who can forget the murder of the WPC outside the Libyan embassy? Or PanAm flight 103? The World Trade Centre, and all the rest of the bombings? Then there was 7/7, in London, Madrid, and everywhere else. And what about the Iranian hostage taking of the Americans? And the Iranian embassy seige, that ended with the SAS going in?

These people will never stop being a problem until firm action - and military action - is taken against them. It's time to stop pussyfooting around in the middle east.

Having said that, whatever happened to "name, rank and number"? These kinds of propaganda exercises by the enemy are precisely why such orders are given.

Jack Lee, Austin, TX USA

I pray your sailors are returned quickly and unharmed. I hope diplomacy works for everyones sake. Iran cannot be allowed to be the dominant power in the middle east. This is just a show of more to come. I hope the other Arab states, Russia and China assist the Brits in getting back the sailors with diplomacy.

Matt, Coloraod, USA

She isn't a Royal Marine.

Crana, Raleigh, USA

I agree with Jan Pryde. The focus on a woman and mother is not going to help much! I do not think it is an act of aggression towards the UK but more a lack of thought from the Britons captured. They must have known what they were getting into but believed theu could make it unharmed. Now the situation is pretty tricky for all the parties concerned and it is very sad.

Marie Lippi, Cauville sur Mer, France

The gutsy lady is being as defiant as she can under the circumstances, with her scarf to the back of her head and her smoking and her smile, forced or otherwise.
Up to now they have been treated well. Diplomacy is the only answer here.

Richard, London, UK

let's get real about this. No-one in government, Iranian or British gives a toss about these people. They are now just pawns in a game of posture and strut. Now who is going to eat humble pie? Neither has the stomach and the Brits are not capable of extracting them safely so don't expect to see them home soon.

jujuman, Toronto,

She is not a Royal Marine! She is a Royal Navy sailor. Be accurate!

Paul G, Wales, Wales

Let us hope and pray they are all released soon and unharmed. I am a bit concerned however that the focus of the attention is on the woman in the team and the fact she is a mother. Do we even know much about the others and whether any of them are fathers? This sort of reporting is not helpful . All the captives are equally important .

Jan Pryde, Sawbridgeworth , UK

I belive that this is an act of agression against the United Kingdom, we should let Iran know that we will not be bullied like this, and let them know that military action towards them is an option very open to us that we would use.

les, york, uk

'Sick of the rambo approach' sure enough that is why Western civilisation with it's values sooner or later will perish. Like the Roman empire , they were more interested in their orgies than guarding the gate untill they were overrun.It's incredible that so many people in the Western world take their freedom for granted .
Would you like your children to grow up in a Mullah or Mugabe style society? The Brits and Americans have the balls to protect our society . Now Iran has lost the plot, I do believe it is not the general Iranian public but more their crazy 'spiritual' leaders.I really hope there will be a diplomatic solution but if need to maybe it is time to teach Iran a lesson.

Folkerus Schuiringa, Belfast,

I'm tyrolese. The royal british army is the best in the world for commandos operations, for bravery and gallantry. Make to understand to the tramps what want to say to be British.

Rudyard, bozen,

"The footage of Ms Turney and her fellow marines". Mr Sanderson, your piece intimates that this female is a member of the Royal Marines. If this is the case then her rank of Leading Seaman is surely a misnomer and her inclination to capitulation when someone says 'booh' is common to the marines ? surely not.

H., Riga, Latvia.

If a week or two of diplomacy can get the required result, then surely this is preferrable to immediate war for everyone ? Forces should not admit to something they didn't do - as these childish tactics should not be rewarded, or they will be encouraged to repeat the offence. Up the pressure until all punative sanctions have been exhausted - (sanctions may take months to bite though) - then start consideing military intervention.

Dave f, London, England

I am distressed to see Ms Turney being forced to wear the hijab. Isn't it is supposed to be a symbol of modesty? Clearly, Ms Turney is acting under duress and there is nothing spiritual or enlighted about that.

Anne Tyson, Birkenhead, Merseyside

The video certainly looks and sounds false. However it is not enough to unleash the rabid dogs of war. Negotiate to get the hostages out and reassess the situation. I am sick of the rambo approach.

dean, Sydney, Australia

Hello from the States,

While I never supported the war, I must say that this aggressive action demands a retaliation. I'm confused as to why we're being so diplomatic about the situation. They are obviously wrong - let's take action. No one would question your rights to force the Iranians to comply.

Panther, Nowheresville, USA

I just want to say that we are so proud that you have stood with us during our various crisis, and we will stand by you and your courageous service men and women.

Charles Schmidt, Houston, USA

Sorry Brian but while I agree with most of your comments, we do now have women serving in the Marines, admittedly only in the band but it's still part of the family!!

Taff, Chester, UK

Why do people care so much what we call these guys? We need to get them out.

David, London,

Getting other countries to put pressure on Iran will also help I believe. They just seem to be trying to send out a message to Britain, the US and middle east (and get Britain to suffer some humiliation by apologising for being in their territory) - but I don't think they're helping themselves.

This shouldn't have happened twice - Britain and the Navy needs to consider how they are to conduct operations in the Gulf going forward. The US boats are too well armed to be taken without a fight by the Iranians - we should do the same.

A special forces rescue mission is a bit unrealistic - it would be suicide to send those guys in, and would trigger much more serious events.

Alex, Bristol,

I'm sure the Boat Squadron (or Special Boat Service as I believe they are now known) would very much like to free their fellow Marines and accompanying sailors

David, St Albans,

The option no. 5 sounds very tempting;
and beoynd that quite reasonable, you play tough with tough guys, they don't understand anything else

Beau, Bristol, UK

Er... She's not a Marine. I believe her rank is Able Seaman Turney, so she is in the Navy. As she says this in her statement, this proves to be rather sloppy reporting. Oh and RIB stands for RIGID Inflatable Boat, not Ribbed.

Matt, London, UK

Would it be possible for David Sanderson to do a bit of basic research before writing an article like this?

Faye Turney is a Leading Seaman in the Royal Navy. There are no women in the Royal Marines.

The party consisted of a mixed force of Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel, not solely Royal Marines.

Brian Meredith, Hove, U.K.

Ms Turney captured as a Leading Seaman in the Royal Navy, has now become a Marine?

Ian B, Reading, Berkshire

You can't make peace with a snake.

Ted Wegener , Sun City , USA/California