#Libya's Rebel Forces Send UK Special Force Soldiers and a Junior Diplomat Packing

7 British Special Forces soldiers and one junior diplomat were released and quickly sent off out of Libya by the opposition in Benghazi. They are now bound for Malta, on board HMS Cumberland.

From Al Jazeera TV, BBC Radio, and UK newspapers, here's what I've heard:

• These 8 Brits claimed they crossed the border from Egypt, but their passports didn't show any stamp or any confirmation that it was the case.

• They all claimed they were diplomats, but only one of them had a diplomatic passport on him. Then they claimed 7 were the security details.

• The 7 "security details" had multiple passports from different countries (apparently fake), ammunition, explosives, and maps.

• They were seen being dropped off a helicopter on a firm owned by a Brit.

Almost sounds like a comedy, like an episode in "Yes, Prime Minister". What would Sir Humphrey Appleby do, to cover up this PR disaster? As I said in my post on this subject yesterday, he would cover it up by a bigger fiasco, by sending in more troops. That's how an accomplished career bureaucrat would work. And if the troops succeed in anything, great. If they fail, fantastic. Because by then, people won't remember this minor episode of "One Diplomat and Seven Dwarfs, oops Seven SAS who got arrested in Libya and summarily sent packing".

Sure enough, Telegraph reports:

However, William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said the Government intended to send further diplomatic personnel soon to "strengthen dialogue" with rebel leaders.

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