Of course, the real lesson we all learned - from blogs and anonymous comments, anyway - was that should a similar situation befall the US they would respond by going all out and fighting to the last bullet...and when that was fired, they'd used bayonets, and when those broke, they'd use sharps sticks, and when those snapped, they'd use stones, etc etc. Just don't mention Sgt Maples crying in front of millions as he thanked Khomenei for his hospitality during the US embassy takeover. Or Army Sgt Joe Subic, who collaborated by identifying "CIA agents" among embassy staff. The tub-thumping flagwavers seem to have erased these incidents from the popular record, but they did happen. We don't even need to get into the aborted rescue - hardly Operation Barras or the SAS storming the Iranian embassy in London.
PS - I think the Australian Navy has dined out on their encounter with the Iranians for long enough. It'd have been better if they'd just kept that cheap shot to themselves, actually.
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