Basra Blues
- iraq
For several years the British have been proudly telling the world about how well their operation is going in Basra, showing their supposed superior methods, experience and tactics to those rough Yanks to the North. The UK press has picked up on this as part of a flag waving exercise, indeed we're still listening to this - only now in Afghanistan.
Make no mistake, we're going to get out of Basra as soon as we can. For several reasons, primarily because we've lost the battle. We have no control over the city, never mind the province - for details on the absolute chaos behind the scenes check out Occupational Hazards by Rory Stewart.
How bad is the situation, well here's a clue: The MoD have banned soldiers and reservists from blogging or writing on bulletin boards. The boys at ARRSE have a few thoughts on the matter.
The British troops are bunkered down outside the city in one of Saddams palaces with the usual tactical brilliance that our officer class is renowned for:
The palace’s isolated location has also served the insurgents. Built by Saddam Hussein in 1990 at the southern end of the city, buttressing the Shatt al-Arab waterway, there are only three viable resupply routes for logistics convoys to reach the base from the main British camp at the airport on Basra’s outskirts. Hugely vulnerable, all three pass directly through the city.
The requirements of food, water, fuel, ammunition and spare vehicle parts ensure that these resupply convoys are vast — sometimes more than 100 vehicles. Some of the civilian lorry drivers involved in the operation get drunk to summon the courage to make the run. And al-Mahdi Army attacks the convoys from the moment they get into the city right up to the palace gates.
So, we're losing men just to bring the bogrolls in. As one soldier said “We can debate it all we want but at the end of the day it’s about pride.”
And now comes the fall.
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Outward Christian
Outward Christian soldiers...
At the rate the West's
At the rate the West's finances are disappearing down the kitchen sink, we'll be out of everywhere in 6 months.
Firstly may I say that I
Firstly may I say that I feel a true sympathy with the soldiers and airmen on the gound in Iraq, they have been cast into a quagmire that can only be one step from hell.
On the other hand there are officers in the British Army who appear not to understand the basics of Democracy. In fact I have had dealings with some of them in Germany, who think that using legislation that Hitler brought in to take total control of the legal system is considered as fair play. I know of many cases that Army Officers were involved in FIXING, including the court hearings, and that they willingly lied to civilian employees, many of whom were British ex-services. Some Army Officers think that because they are of such a rank, they have the right to do whatever, no matter how illegal.
Who's a clever Osama then?
Who's a clever Osama then? The berks fell for his provocation hook, line, and sinker.
And the Yanks are still bragging about how they bluffed the USSR into bankruptcy...
Feeds slightly into my
Feeds slightly into my theory that the Soviets won the Cold War - the KGB run Russia, the US are cracking on dissidents, setting up kangaroo courts and invasive unaccountable secret police and of course everyone's getting bogged down fighting fundamentalist mujahideen in Afghanistan.
Setting up kangaroo courts
Setting up kangaroo courts and invasive unaccountable secret police and of course everyone's getting bogged down fighting fundamentalist mujahideen in Afghanistan.
Hi Tom,
This is the role of the German Government. They have taken on the mantra of the old East German security apparatus. You will remember that the German regime was responsible for helping set up a government in Afghanistan. They supply a worthless Constitution to look good to the local populous. The puppet regime is supplied with a piece of NAZI legislation that makes sure the politicians and the system can never be challenged, which totally overrides the Constitution.
The Kangaroo Courts are actually NAZI SPECIAL COURTS, which are still used in Germany today, in cases where the evidence and the law on the subject mean that the government will lose. Therefore, the poor unsuspecting non-government party is set up in a totally RIGGED court, where they are denied legal representation, and are not allowed to speak themselves. There is no reporting of such hearings, for obvious reasons
I'm not sure if you are aware that according to the US State Department, the North Korean legal system is based on the German Civil Code. This means that either North Korea is Democratic, or that Germany is a totalitarian dictatorship. The latter is actually correct
"The British troops are
"The British troops are bunkered down outside the city in one of Saddams palaces with the usual tactical brilliance that our officer class is renowned for:"
The Colossus of Baghdad...
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=12943
http://villagevoice.com/blog
http://villagevoice.com/blogs/bushbeat/archive/2007/08/postpoodle_poli.php
And to see just how badly
And to see just how badly things are going for the British troops in Basra check out the lastest casualty graphs at LFCM.
And to see just how badly
And to see just how badly things are going for the British troops in Basra check out the lastest casualty graphs at LFCM.
And to see just how badly
And to see just how badly things are going for the British troops in Basra check out the lastest casualty graphs at LFCM.
Oops! That error message had
Oops! That error message had me fooled - apologies for multi-posting.