Tony Blair apparently has no sense of irony when it comes to Iraq:

British government officials will release evidence today designed to prove that British marines seized by Iranians last week were patrolling well inside Iraqi waters and should never have been captured.

The evidence will include maps, detailed co-ordinates and photographs of the area. The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, cutting short a visit to Turkey yesterday, will also make a statement to MPs today, but the detailed briefing will be left to officials.

I wrote a post earlier in the week about Team Bush’s role in preventing a frank evaluation of any threat that may be posed by Iran. The article drew a fair amount of flak on the Daily Kos from those who felt I was supporting the viewpoint that Iran poses a threat. I’ll chalk it up to poor writing on my part, but this was never my intention, nor do I honestly suspect that Iran is a vital security issue at present.

However, I believe that the incident with the 15 British marines illustrates my point exactly. None of us know for sure what is happening, but my gut reaction tells me that the marines were in Iranian waters in violation of international law. It is also apparent that Tehran is refusing – for the time being – the prisoners access to British diplomats. I suspect that all things considered, both sides are behaving outside the dictates of fair play to say the least.

But perhaps there is more to the story. Perhaps the marines are being illegally detained, as alleged by Blair, and this incident is further evidence of a growing threat. The point I was trying to make is that, in my own petulant way, it doesn’t matter one whit to me. Why? Because based entirely on the aggressive and provocative history of the Bush/Blair warmongering in this region, I am prepared to give Tehran practically carte blanche when it comes to benefit of the doubt. When Blair trots out his satellite surveillance, all I will see is the specter of Colin Powell at the UN with his “proof” of Iraqi WMDs. Which is another way of saying that all I see is a big, honkin’ liar.

Is Iran trying to start a war with the West? Probably not. But they could be. And as long as a bunch of self-serving, arrogant thugs are behind the wheel, I will reflexively assume they are lying. And in the end, the rest of us sheep may very well pay the price for Team Bush having cried wolf.