Posted on 06/25/2003 5:16:12 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
The main question asked in the urgent review of British "standard operating procedures" in Iraq will be why six soldiers were left to face rioting Iraqis on their own.
It will also examine whether the recent decision to begin withdrawing two-thirds of the British troops was correct and whether or not it continues to be safe for them to walk around in their berets without full body armour.
But the main issue will centre around how six soldiers more used to policing than fighting came to be shot dead by civilians when better-armed troops had already been forced to withdraw from the area.
There was no shortage of warning signals ahead of the killings. A separate confrontation between paratroopers and gunmen in Majar al-Kabir, which left eight wounded, occurred four hours earlier.
This was followed, according to local witnesses, by demonstrations that went on for four hours before the British military police officers used rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowd.
When elements within the crowd returned fire with live rounds the six soldiers retreated to the police station which was the scene of a two-hour siege.
In the circumstances it is difficult to see why the small detachment of military police officers was not reinforced or withdrawn.
Once the demonstration turned into a riot, the British troops' radio was stolen but given the earlier firefights involving the paratroopers, commanders should have realised long before that point that they were in severe danger.
As to whether the British presence as a whole in Iraq should be reinforced, Gen Peter Wall, the British commander, made clear yesterday that he did not believe that any extra troops were needed at present.
Flooding the region with heavily armed troops would be a big step backwards in the transition to a peaceful Iraqi civil administration.
British troops are also unlikely to drop their policy of patrolling in a less aggressive stance, epitomised by their wearing of berets rather than steel helmets and the use of light body armour.
Adopting the American method of patrols in armoured vehicles by troops wearing heavy body armour and helmets would not help to restore confidence among the local population.
Whatever the inquiry decides, the main problem for British commanders is that many of the measures they are trying to introduce, such as weapons confiscation, are anathema to the population.
Weapons are an emotive issue in an area where every family has traditionally had a gun and where there is concern over what would happen without them once the British leave, although the unrest will also have been fomented by those who feel they are losing out under the British-led administration.
The Amarah region is on the main drugs route for heroin coming out of Afghanistan through Iran. That has led to relative affluence for some sections of the population.
Among the Huwaiza marshes on the Iranian border a short distance away are a number of well-built houses with satellite dishes and new vehicles parked outside.
The potential for further riches once the British leave has led to a plethora of local political parties. The wall in the operations room of the local Parachute Regiment company has crib sheets for a number of small parties all vying for power.
They each list the names, allegiances, and main members of the party. Several make it clear that the party has no constituency outside the families of the leaders. Whoever the British work with, there will be others who feel they are about to lose out on the drugs money and will be only too willing to foment further dissent.
Oh those ever so practical British.
Remember, these groups are pure thugs with weapons. It is impossible to detect where the attack is going to come from.
Those people know the lay of the land, they know where the advantage is.
Adopting the American method of patrols in armoured vehicles by troops wearing heavy body armour and helmets would not help to restore confidence among the local population.
This is pure puckey. They have to keep moving.
At this point, making friends is NOT the issue. They are in a clean-up mode. (I can almost hear some stupid left wing indoctrinated Left Wint low level Lieutenant saying "We have to make them feel good about out us." Agree, some one's head should role.
This place is NOT secure.
Thank God, I'm not in the service right now (too old). You don't even want to hear my speech (rant) on their local TV. It should be an altimatum. Do this or else.
Exactly. I am telling you there is a major command problem from the US here. This should be a no brainer.
What I am pointing out is that weather it is from the top, the middle or the bottom, there are some "make them feel good" decisions being made here. And, that is a major mistake.
My God, we are at War with these people.
The part that still gives me goosebumps every time that I see it is the part of the movie where, just prior to the final Zulu assault, the two sides compete between the Zulu chants and "Men of Harlech" sung by the Welshmen.
The Irresistable Force meeting the Immovable Object ...
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