"Unlike the American troops, we look the Iraqis in the eye"

The Daily Telegraph U.K. ^ | 4-05-03 | Not attributed

[WaterDragon]

The Telegraph, supposedly the most conservative newspaper in Britain, has published a series of drivel like this throughout the war.

Perhaps I missed them, but I've seen no articles in American newspapers offering anything but praise for the British troops. I've seen no articles quoting American troops offering other than appreciation for British participation in the war.

Could it be that the British are simply so superior to Americans that no fault can be found with the British troops? I don't think so. I can think of a number of things to sneer at the British troops about. However, I am incapable of showing less courtesy toward our 'allies' than our own troops, in the field, do.

But just remember these articles when we are invited to praise Blair and Britain. Anti-Americanism sometimes goes underground for a while, but it will inevitably burst out, in the most boorish and crass ways.

[anniegetyourgun]

There, there....it's just all those years of colonizing, empire-building, and being imperialistic that allows the Brits to be so good at patronization. It's a benevolent-master role that the English have cultivated through the centuries.

[annyokie]

Who's is bigger? Brits in the middle here.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Now let me see, The Brits are liked in southern Iraq. The Americans are adored by the Kurds in northern Iraq.

But the Americans are so much chopped liver acording to the article.

I suggest this paper strongly propose we drop the Brits into the most die hard Sadamnite bathest strongholds within Baghdad and see how they fare with that meet my buddy Ala Babba scenario BS.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Add the Telegraph to the growing list of catbox and bird cage liners :)

[dandelion]

That's odd - the Brits never complained about the tactics of our "mother****ing warriors" when the Yanks whipped Hitler for them...

[The Hon. Galahad Threepwood]

You know, the danger in responding to any and all criticism with hatred and bile is that one never improves.

[Husker24]

If we see one vehicle heading at speed towards a checkpoint we let it through

And when one of those vehicles explodes killing 5 or so of your troops, its just plain irresponsible.

[spectre]

This is so much bullshit.

[WaterDragon]

You show up at FR just when the war starts to counsel Americans to learn from criticism?

[dandelion]

Actually, I believe this is less criticism than just a little chest-thumping on the part of British journalists. Howsumever, all's fair in love and war - so if we thump our chests in return, then it's mutual.

I'm all for letting the Brits rule the peace with some help from their overbearing American comrades; after all, we won the war, with some help from our British buddies. We all have our place!

[Arkinsaw]

We are rather dogmatic in our force protection schemes. In this instance, the British have pushed the decisions down to the lower levels whereas our approach is a lot more dogmatic. There is much to be said for the British approach.

[JimSEA]

I see, this explains why the US troups swept through all of Iraq to Bagdad while the Brits surrounded Basra waiting until the internal competing factions had killed each other off??

No, I don't really believe that but it illustrated how talking trash can go two ways.

[stylin19a]

...and their experience of urban warfare in the battle for Hue during the Vietnam war and more recently in Somalia has left them jumpy.

This yo-you needs a history lesson re: Hue City. Marines In Beirut would be a better example. Better safe than dead.

[stinkypew]

The Russians did most of the Hitler-whippin. Not us. And in my opinion the Brits did at least as much as we did. Probably more.

[DoctorMichael]

Just a tangential FYI.....................

The US tank commander with his arms upraised.........Yelled out something like, "For God and Country, men. Now onto Baghdad and Victory", on a videotape I saw of him as THAT picture was being taken.

I have NEVER seen that videotape replayed, anywhere. Hmmmmmmmm.......a little TOO enthusiastically patriotic for the news media?

[RightWhale]

It seems that many of the records of WMD were kept in one of the Baghdad Ministries that was sacked and burned by "looters." Of course Bagdad was the center of Saddam's regieme and many of his lower-level functionaries are still there and willing to do mischief.

[WaterDragon]

Exactly.

[xJones]

You know, the danger in responding to any and all criticism with hatred and bile is that one never improves.

I was thinking that, also. The Brits do have the advantage of years of patrolling Northern Ireland. And the Telegraph did those big stories on files found in the "bombed out" foreign office that documented French leaks to Saddam's govenment among other things.

[dead]

The British have learned in the past 30 years that good information on the enemy was their best protection and that putting soldiers at risk to get it was justified; jungle ambushes in Vietnam made the Americans obsessed with "force protection".

What a silly article.

I'm supposed that the Brits out-think suicide bombers by being culturally sensitive, while Americans just shoot the f#*kers?

"Tally ho! Jolly dynamite fellow. Have a crimpet and whatnot, being sure to refrain from blowing us all up and such other behaviours! Here! Here!"