POW's as Stage Props

Approximately two years ago I attended a mandatory one day course with the Navy. It was an intense day of teaching a code of conduct for military personnel taken as POW's. It included practical "lessons learned" shared by some of our prior military men and women who had served under such difficult circumstances. We moved through "good-guy, bad-guy" interrogation techniques which might be used against us. Talked about the international implications of placing our signatures to any document, writing letters home or speaking on a videotape against our own government. We were instructed on the pitfalls of dealing with anti-war activists who would come bearing gifts, hoping to return to the U.S. with a message of distortion. But it was hammered into us that the Navy code of honor, courage and commitment was not to crack except under the most dire of predicaments. Our traditions are meant to serve us well in time of war and of peace.

Everyone knows the value of a POW as a stage prop. But Tehran has erred in releasing photos of their only female British sailor dressed in a hijab. It was not necessary and it could possibly spark tensions on the Queen's soil where public interest is high regarding the welfare of these British sailors. Britain has grappled since 9/11 with the fault line of public opinion regarding the right of British Muslim women to wear hijab in public. This battle has gone from the public school domain, to the workplace and into the highest reaches of government. On the one side, PM Tony Blair's wife Cherie, representing Shabina Begum, a Muslim school student. On the opposite side of the fence, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw weighing in on the issue and proclaiming that hijab brings a distinct line of separation between British Muslims, and other British citizens. So the battle has blazed steadily. Is hijab an allowable sign of personal devotion or a walking billboard for non-assimilation of the immigrant into the host nation?

Tehran would do well to wash and press Faye Turney's uniform of the day and send her home in the cloth of her nation. The Union Jack will surely be toasted in the pubs of London when all the British sailors are released. But meanwhile, the grandstanding tactics of Iran must cease with regard to prisoner photos.

Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com