he broke Rule-.303
Posted on 02/04/2009 4:52:17 PM PST by nickcarraway
A BRITISH Colonel is alleged to have leaked highly sensitive civilian casualty figures after being befriended by a woman from a human rights group. A senior source told The Sun that Lt Col Owen McNally started passing details to her when the pair became “close” in Afghanistan.
The figures are controversial because critics question official estimates, claiming they play down the full horror.
Col McNally had access to them as part of a group working for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, which masterminds operations in the country.
American generals in capital Kabul are “seething” over the allegations.
A source said: “The very suggestion that a senior British officer has been responsible for leaks from their HQ has driven the Yanks potty.”
Investigation
Col McNally, 48 — on a one-year posting from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers — was seized by Royal Military Police and will now be flown back to the UK.
Scotland Yard detectives will then take over the investigation from the Red Caps because of the serious nature of the allegations.
Col McNally is accused of breaching section one of the Official Secrets Act.
If he is charged he will appear in the dock at the Old Bailey, which hears all such cases.
If convicted he could be jailed for up to 14 years.
He joined the Army as a private in 1977 and worked his way up the ranks until he was commissioned as an officer in 1995.
It is extremely rare for a former NCO to attain the exalted £75,000-a-year rank of Lt Col.
A senior officer said: “This is deeply embarrassing for the British Army and completely unprecedented.
“In mitigation, there is NO suggestion that any of the figures were being leaked to the Taliban.
“It is believed that they were given to a human rights organisation.”
Civilian deaths from coalition air strikes have risen in recent years, also leading to mounting tensions between military commanders and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
It is estimated that more than 1,000 innocent Afghans have died each year since 2001 in crossfire between the Taliban and US-led troops.
But campaigners claim the figure should be much higher.
NATO insists it always publishes information on “collateral damage” and that it is unclear why any facts about them would need to be kept secret.
Last night the Ministry of Defence told The Sun: “We can confirm that a British Army officer has been arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of breaching the Official Secrets Act.
“He is being returned to the UK for questioning. No further details will be released at this stage.”
14 years if convicted ? He should meet the firing squad.
The ‘human rights organization’ is as treacherous as the NYT.
Obviously the Brit was thinking with his little head. His stupidity will cost us dearly.
About 12-13 US citizens are killed everyday by illegal alien invaders and I’ve not heard ONE human rights organization pitch a bitch about that.
She probably had straight teeth which the Brit saw as kinky.
I wonder if this has any connection to those Polish troops who are on trial for killing “civilians”?
Then again, this IS the u.k., he'll get a seat in parliament.
And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I'd say the same about congress if it was one of ours.
highly sensitive civilian casualty figures after being befriended by a woman from a human rights group... Col McNally had access to them as part of a group working for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, which masterminds operations in the country... Col McNally, 48 -- on a one-year posting from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers -- was seized by Royal Military Police and will now be flown back to the UK. Scotland Yard detectives will then take over the investigation from the Red Caps because of the serious nature of the allegations. Col McNally is accused of breaching section one of the Official Secrets Act... If convicted he could be jailed for up to 14 years. He joined the Army as a private in 1977 and worked his way up the ranks until he was commissioned as an officer in 1995.
Sorry to say, but there isn't much of a filter between the two.
As proved in Iraq, and now in Afghanistan, the most humble Paraguayan private is more dependable, a better soldier, than the best officers in the British army.
I hope they waterboard his ass.
he broke Rule-.303
After Obama communizes dentistry, we will ALL have bad teeth, like the Brits.
Shoulda been happening to some of the Yank leakers. Including the good folks at the NY Times.
That is a rediculous statement. All British military personnel I have worked with, including their officers, are top knotch individuals. Where did you come up with that one?
Why are Gurly Men like that? One BJ and their tongues are wagging like a snake caught down a hole.
The Brits are not security vetting their in theater officers. Getting like the French!
I wanna meeet that human rights worker. Why wasn't she named?
She was probably trained by the Iranians to tie her shoes with her tongue.
To state that the British presence in Basra and the south of Iraq was something to be proud of is absurd. Aside from personal knowledge of what was occuring there the British news is also aware of the terrible shortcomings. My info on the Brits in Afghanistan comes from a friend in intel who has been at Bagram off and on for four years. You have met some good Brits, fine. But an army needs more than a few good people; it needs commanders from the field to the command centers in the UK who have the commitment and the materiel to wage war.
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