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I recall the first day of the second Gulf War clearly. It was the day I made a speech that quickly became very famous, and which has now been criticised by a former soldier as having left my men "fearful of the dangers that faced them". The Americans had attacked Iraq with, once again, no warning to us, their British allies. It was just like the last time: the first Gulf War, when the first we in the SAS knew of the beginning of the air war was when we saw it on CNN. This time, in March 2003, soldiers...

May 2003 was an uncomfortable time in Iraq. The President of the United States had just announced that combat operations were complete and force levels were beginning to be reduced, following the defeat of the Iraqi army in the field. But the vacuum that had been created by the toppling of the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein had not been filled - and clearly the people needed some form of leadership after 35 years of one-party rule. That vacuum was made more severe by the removal of the Iraqi army and police, resulting in an outbreak of lawlessness that was...

Colonel wins libel damages A British Army colonel has won substantial undisclosed libel damages against two newspapers that made allegations about his conduct during the Iraq war. Tim Collins won damages against the Sunday Express and Sunday Mirror newspapers at the High Court in Belfast on Friday. The newspapers withdrew allegations that he had been involved in war crimes including the murder of an Iraqi prisoner. The Northern Ireland army officer achieved fame for his speech to troops of the Royal Irish Regiment on the eve of the Iraq War. Belfast-born Col Collins, 43, was widely praised when he told...

Col Tim Collins, the Army officer who won worldwide renown for a rousing speech on the eve of the Iraq war, has won undisclosed libel damages against two tabloid newspapers which accused him of war crimes. Col Tim Collins: 'relieved and totally vindicated' The Sunday Mirror admitted that allegations it made about Col Collins were false, including claims that nine Iraqi soldiers were shot while surrendering to Royal Irish Regiment troops. The Sunday Express said its report that there was an inquiry into an incident where one of Saddam Hussein's henchmen was allegedly doused in petrol and set alight, then...

The Army has lost one of its most competent officers with the resignation of Col Tim Collins, military sources said yesterday. The Iraq war commander, who won acclaim for an impassioned eve of war speech, has apparently become disillusioned after a highly publicised investigation into alleged ill-treatment of Iraqis during the conflict. The allegations, made by an American reservist, were proved to be baseless. Col Tim Collins addresses his men on then eve invasion of Iraq During the military police inquiry Col Collins, 44, was sent on several months "gardening leave" but, according to friends, he felt abandoned by senior...

"Tim is no longer convinced that the army reflects the country with the fourth largest economy in the world," she was quoted as saying. "He fears it is becoming a cottage industry. "He's worried it is being crippled by political correctness, petty bureaucracy and the refusal of politicians who send British soldiers to war to give them enough money to do their job."

Colonel Tim Collins, the officer who won worldwide renown for his rousing speech on the eve of the Iraq war, has dramatically quit the Army. Col Collins, who commanded the 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment during the conflict, is reported to have resigned and will leave in August because he has become disillusioned with the Army. Although the colonel has made no official statement, his wife, Caroline, was quoted yesterday as saying: "Tim is worried that the Army is being crippled by political correctness, petty bureaucracy and the refusal of politicians who send soldiers to war to give them...

LONDON (AP) -- A British officer who made headlines with a stirring eve-of-battle speech to troops preparing to fight in Iraq has resigned from the army, a newspaper reported.The Mail on Sunday said Col. Tim Collins, 43, had handed in his resignation last week and was expected to leave the army this summer after 22 years of service.The Ministry of Defense refused to comment on the report, saying it did not discuss individuals publicly.Collins, who commanded the 1st battalion of the Irish Guards, was often photographed smoking a cigar and wearing designer sunglasses. He galvanized his troops in Kuwait before...

Colonel Tim Collins, the officer who won worldwide renown for his rousing speech on the eve of the Iraq war, has dramatically quit the Army. Col Collins, who commanded the 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment during the conflict, is reported to have resigned and will leave in August because he has become disillusioned with the Army. Although the colonel has made no official statement, his wife, Caroline, was quoted yesterday as saying: "Tim is worried that the Army is being crippled by political correctness, petty bureaucracy and the refusal of politicians who send soldiers to war to give them...

An American officer who served with Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Collins in Iraq has defended the British officer against allegations of war crimes. The controversial commander of the Royal Irish Regiment is being investigated by the army for breaches of the Geneva convention after a US reservist complained about his treatment of prisoners of war and of an Iraqi civilian. But Major Stan Coerr, a US marines reservist who was also attached to Col Collins' unit, has called the allegations a "travesty" and claimed the accuser acted out of "spite". Sunday newspapers named Col Collins' accuser as Major Re Biastre, a part-time...

A British Army officer has been cleared by the Ministry of Defence of mistreating prisoners of war in Iraq. No criminal proceedings will be brought against Colonel Tim Collins, the former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, the the Ministry of Defence said. A spokeswoman for the MoD said: "I can confirm that the investigation into allegations against Colonel Collins has now concluded and that no criminal proceedings will be taken against him." Northern-Ireland born Col Collins, 43, a father of five, won British and American praise for a rousing speech to his Royal Irish Regiment troops...

So the rumours were accurate: the Government's war on the institutions of the state continues unabated. The latest target is once again the Army - the only public service that does its work with conspicuous success. Whether asked to fight fires, destroy mountains of animal corpses or take Basra, the Army snaps to it and delivers. Yet, at a time when it needs 10,000 more soldiers, it is being ordered to sack 3,500 members of the Royal Irish Regiment that has been a vital force in the domestic war against terrorism [report, May 28]. After more than three decades living...

COLONEL Tim Collins has been cleared of war crimes in a preliminary report by the army’s special investigations branch. The British officer who became an instant hero for his rousing eve-of-battle speech before the invasion of Iraq, was accused by a reservist American soldier of mistreating Iraqi prisoners, threatening civilians and hitting an Iraqi official with a pistol. But Major Stan Coerr, a US Marine officer in charge of a unit attached to Col Collins’ Royal Irish Regiment, has claimed the allegations were triggered by spite. The man who levelled the accusations, part-time soldier Major Re Biastre, was involved in...

The Army inquiry into Col Tim Collins has found no evidence that his conduct during the war in Iraq was in breach of the Geneva Conventions.The investigation, which is continuing, is expected to conclude that if there was any misconduct by Col Collins, who commanded 1 Bn Royal Irish Regiment in southern Iraq, it was minor. According to an Army source: "They are not investigating any war crimes or contraventions of the Geneva Conventions. At the moment, there is nothing to suggest the rules of conflict have been broken."The inquiry into Col Collins, 42, who was widely praised for...

One of the striking aspects of the Tim Collins affair is the way in which national stereotypes have been confused. On one side you have the colonel himself, by all accounts a brash, energetic man, bringing tough justice to a dangerous and lawless world. Just the sort of type, in short, that Americans are supposed to admire. On the other you have his accuser, a part-time traffic cop and counsellor who is also a civil affairs officer in the US Army reserve. This rear-echelon Milquetoast, by turning on his boss, would appear to suffer those failings of deviousness and disloyalty...

THE arrogant US Army major who accused Colonel Tim Collins of war crimes in Iraq was taking REVENGE — after the Brit hero had told him to stand to attention properly. Witnesses said the tobacco-chewing American had shrugged at Col Collins, 43, and said with a sneer: “Oh, yeah, fine.” Former SAS man Col Collins was furious at the major’s disrespectful attitude toward a senior officer and had him arrested for insubordination. Then he humiliated the yank by making him stand ramrod straight for 45 minutes while British squaddies walked past, trying to stifle their sniggers. It is believed the...

Ba'ath Party teacher accuses 'war crimes' British colonel of staging mock execution By Michael Smith in Rumailah (Filed: 23/05/2003) The Ba'ath Party representative in the first town occupied by the Royal Irish Regiment is thought to be the source for four of the five allegations of "war crimes" made against Col Tim Collins. Ayoub Younis Nasser, the former headmaster of the al-Nukhaila school in Rumailah, 30 miles west of Basra, took his unsubstantiated claims further yesterday, claiming that Col Collins also subjected him and his son to a mock execution. Mr Nasser, who is now an ordinary teacher, alleged that...

Colonel Tim Collins is confident of being cleared by an investigation into his conduct during the war in Iraq. The soldier, who was a Lieutenant Colonel with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment and has since been promoted, told the Daily Mirror: "I'm astonished. I am confident my good name will be restored." Speaking from his home in Canterbury, Kent, Col Collins said he had "no idea how they [the allegations] came about". Col Collins, 43, is accused of breaching the Geneva Convention in his treatment of PoWs and an Iraqi civic leader. Ministry of Defence sources yesterday...

AN Army officer hailed a hero for his inspirational leadership in the Iraq conflict is being probed over alleged war crimes, The Sun can reveal. Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins, 43, has been accused of a number of “serious breaches” of war rules. Military investigators are examining claims that he punched, kicked and threatened Iraqi PoWs and opened fire needlessly. Cigar-chomping Col Collins gained fame on the eve of the war by galvanising his troops with an emotion-charged address that won praise from Prince Charles and US President George Bush. The officer, who led the Canterbury-based Royal Irish Regiment in...

THE hero soldier who inspired the nation as his troops blazed a trail through Iraq has finally opened his heart about the war that changed his life. The News of the World was the only paper invited to be present as Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins left his beloved Royal Irish Regiment after being promoted to full colonel. "I look at Iraq and it's a bit like living in a street where there's a nice house," he said. "But every night you can see a father going home drunk and hearing his wife and children crying. "And finally some neighbours have...