Author: Gunner

The Brits have recently agreed to move 850 members of the Black Watch to an area near Baghdad, freeing up U.S. forces to apply further pressure on Fallujah. The question now is did they acquiesce to an American request or were they itching for the opportunity.

The decision to send Black Watch troops into Iraq’s “triangle of death” followed requests by British military chiefs to take over a US- controlled area.

British officers have been “champing at the bit” for months to be allowed the chance to demonstrate what they believed are superior skills in restoring order, according to a senior military source.

Some officers believe that American ‘heavy-handedness’ in Iraq is prolonging the conflict. The revelation casts new light on the decision to send 850 British troops to boost American forces. The official position remains that Washington asked for support. It led to accusations that Britain was boosting President George W Bush’s election ambitions by supporting the campaign.

However, the request came only after British officers made it clear to their American counterparts that they would be receptive to an approach. Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, has not revealed the extent of the British Army’s enthusiasm for the mission for fear of appearing critical of America.

General Sir Mike Jackson, chief of the general staff, is among senior British officers who have praised British successes in southern Iraq and regretted that the forces had not taken over an area in or around Baghdad at the start of the war.

Jackson has come closest to disapproving of some American tactics, saying that US military culture “differed significantly” from Britain’s. During the 2003 Iraq conflict he said: “We have a very considerable hearts and minds challenge.”

As part of their hearts-and-minds approach, the Brits are considering a soft hat to go with the needed iron gauntlet.

The Black Watch soldiers being sent to Iskandariyah, near Baghdad, may patrol wearing berets instead of the helmets used by the US marines they will replace.

British officers say the use of berets has helped their troops to win the confidence of locals in south-east Iraq.

A final decision on the issue will not be made until the 850 members of the 1st Bn Black Watch have taken up position over the next few days.

“They’ll have to make a judgment when they’re up there,” said Sqd Ldr Steve Dharamraj, a British military spokesman. British troops in Basra were patrolling in soft hats, but had hard hats at the ready in case of trouble.

“If you’re on the streets and looking more human, it must be a good thing,” he said. “We don’t patrol in sunglasses. There’s lots of eye contact.”

All noble and peaceful, those Brits. Hey, don’t get me wrong; I have nothing but respect for the gallantry and abilities of the British troops. I just want to point out that they aren’t the only ones employing a balance of force with peaceful dexterity.

When U.S. civilian authorities were rooting out Saddam Hussein (news – web sites) loyalists, Col. Dana J.H. Pittard recruited 41 of them as advisers and encouraged them to stay in contact with the very insurgents who were fighting his men.

Discovering that a respected Muslim cleric had been in prison for 10 months, Pittard and a small contingent helicoptered 300 miles to the lockup in full battle gear, and confronted military police guards, demanding that they free him. “We made it very clear we wouldn’t leave without him,” Pittard said. Otherwise, he added jokingly: “I think we would have kidnapped him.”

Pittard, commander of an American infantry brigade in the once insurgency-rife province of Diyala, is outspoken and his tactics don’t always follow the textbook. But he believes they have produced a “recipe for success” at Baghdad’s vital northern gateway.

It includes everything from driving wedges between rebel factions to forbidding his troops to be rude to Arabs.

A Harvard-educated military aide to former President Clinton (news – web sites), the colonel from El Paso, Texas, also believes that contrary to what some military analysts think, a conventional U.S. Army unit with the right training, tactics and mind-set can defeat the rebellion.

….

Pittard, 45, believes it’s important to project toughness. “The fact that we allowed ourselves to pull out of Fallujah was a mistake,” he says, referring to the insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. To prevent any such backsliding in his territory, Pittard has troops continuously stationed inside Baqouba, the provincial capital some 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

“We don’t allow even the slightest sign of open resistance,” he said.

When the Diyala Province town of Buhritz flared up over the summer, Pittard threatened to destroy it and a sizable U.S.-Iraqi force went in to kill or wound some 50 insurgents. But at the same critical moment, as leaflets circulated demanding U.S. troops stay out, Pittard drove into the center of town, held a news conference for Iraqi media and asked: “What do you need in Buhritz?”

“We realize we can kill the enemy till kingdom come and still not be successful,” Pittard says. “You need a full-spectrum, balanced approach… the right balance between lethal and non-lethal action.”

Have Col. Pittard’s efforts been effective? Though continued success is not ensured, I’ll let this stand for Pittard’s success to date:

Roadside and car bombings, while still a serious threat to his 6,000 soldiers, fell 60 percent from their June peak while direct attacks plummeted by 85 percent, according to the military. As mortar and rocket strikes on Camp Warhorse, headquarters of Pittard’s 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, have subsided, body armor no longer has to be worn at all times and outdoor volleyball and basketball courts have come into use.

The problem with the growing numbers and militancy of the Islamic radicals in France and other European countries bodes ill news for the future peace of a continent barely willing to face its danger. Now, there is cold, dead evidence that the pending Euro problem has decided to export itself elsewhere.

French officials have identified a French national killed in fighting against U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

The 19-year-old man, identified only by his first name, Redoune, is believed to have died in July during a U.S. bombardment of Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad.

The Paris newspaper Le Figaro says the identification of the man, believed to be of Tunisian origin, provides the first evidence that Islamic radicals from France are participating in the insurgency in Iraq.

This is truly a world war. Unfortunately, large parts of the world would rather pretend that it’s not.