History > 2006 > UK > Wars > Iraq (I)

Dave Brown

The Independent        1.2.2006

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

5pm update

Basra blast kills two UK soldiers

Monday May 29, 2006
Staff and agencies
Guardian Unlimited

Two British soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in Basra, the Ministry of Defence said today.

The soldiers, from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, were killed as they took part in a routine patrol in support of operations intended to disrupt militant activities. Their deaths took the British toll in Iraq to 113.

Two soldiers were injured in the blast, which happened at 10pm local time (1900 BST) in the Gizaya area of Iraq's second-largest city. Initial reports said three had been wounded, one seriously.

The attack came a day after British troops seized what they said was their largest-ever cache of weapons.

In a seperate attack, two British CBS journalists were killed and a US correspondent was seriously injured when their convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, the network said today. A US army captain and an Iraqi interpreter also died.

Cameraman Paul Douglas, 48, and 42-year-old soundman James Brolan, both from London, died and correspondent Kimberly Dozier, 39, was seriously injured.

A CBS statement said the journalists had been reporting from outside their Humvee vehicle and were believed to have been wearing their protective gear. They were on patrol with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that two British journalists working as part of the CBS news crew were killed in an attack on a convoy in Baghdad this morning."

Elsewhere in Iraq, a roadside bomb ripped through a bus near Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, killing 10 people.

The victims had been working at the Ashraf base of the Mujahedeen Khalk, or MEK, which opposes the Iranian regime, police said.

The MEK, made up of Iranian dissidents living in Iraq, said the dead were Iraqi workers who had been heading to their camp. Twelve people were injured in the explosion.

In another incident, a bomb planted in a parked minivan killed at least seven and injured around 20 when it went off at the entrance to an open-air market in the northern Baghdad suburb of Kazimiya.

Shootings and bombings across Iraq killed nine people and wounded 35 across the country yesterday.

The bodies of at least 10 more people, possible victims of Iraq's increasing sectarian violence, were found in Baghdad.

In a politically significant killing, Sheik Osama al-Jadaan was ambushed by gunmen as he was driven through Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Mansour district. His driver and one of his bodyguards were also killed.

Mr al-Jadaan was a leader of the Karabila tribe, which has thousands of members in Anbar province, an insurgent hotbed stretching from west of Baghdad to the Syrian border.

He had agreed to help security forces track down al-Qaida members and foreign fighters.

    Basra blast kills two UK soldiers, G, 29.5.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1785339,00.html

Politics

Bush and Blair Concede Errors,

but Defend War

May 26, 2006
The New York Times
By DAVID E. SANGER
and JIM RUTENBERG

WASHINGTON, May 25 — President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, two leaders badly weakened by the continuing violence in Iraq, acknowledged major misjudgments in the execution of the Iraq war on Thursday night even while insisting that the election of a constitutional government in Baghdad justified their decision to go to war three years ago.

Speaking in subdued, almost chastened, tones at a joint news conference in the East Room, the two leaders steadfastly refused to talk about a schedule for pulling troops out of Iraq — a pressure both men are feeling intently. They stuck to a common formulation that they would pull troops out only as properly trained Iraqi troops progressively took control over more and more territory in the country.

But in an unusual admission of a personal mistake, Mr. Bush said he regretted challenging insurgents in Iraq to "bring it on" in 2003, and said the same about his statement that he wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive." Those two statements quickly came to reinforce his image around the world as a cowboy commander in chief. "Kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people," Mr. Bush said. "I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner." He went on to say that the American military's biggest mistake was the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, where photographs of detainees showed them in degrading and abusive conditions. "We've been paying for that for a long period of time," Mr. Bush said, his voice heavy with regret.

Mr. Blair, whose approval levels have sunk even lower than Mr. Bush's, said he particularly regretted the broad decision to strip most members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party of their positions in government and civic life in 2003, leaving most institutions in Iraq shorn of expertise and leadership.

The news conference, in the formal setting of the East Room, was notable for the contrite tone of both leaders. Mr. Bush acknowledged "a sense of consternation" among the American people, driven by the steady drumbeat of American casualties.

The meeting came at a low moment in Mr. Bush's presidency and Mr. Blair's prime ministership, at a time when the decisions that they made to invade Iraq and that they have defended ever since have proved a political albatross for both.

Just as they joined in the drive to war in 2003, the two leaders on Thursday evening seemed joined by a common interest in arguing that things had finally turned around in Iraq. Mr. Blair, who was in Iraq earlier this week, ventured the closest to a prediction about a timetable for disengagement, saying that he thought it was possible that Iraq's new prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, was accurate in his prediction that Iraqi forces could control security in all of the country's provinces within 18 months.

But Mr. Bush quickly fell back to his familiar insistence that he would not begin a drawdown until his commanders said it was possible, and he noted that troops were recently called up from Kuwait to help stabilize Baghdad. He said that in the end he would insist on victory over both insurgents and terrorists linked to Al Qaeda, and he dismissed as "press speculation" reports of tentative Pentagon plans to bring American troop levels to about 100,000 by the end of this year. "A loss in Iraq would make this world an incredibly dangerous place," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Bush said he and Mr. Blair had spent "a great deal of time" discussing their next challenge: how to put together the right mix of penalties and incentives to force Iran to suspend the production of uranium and give up a program that both men had said clearly pointed to a desire to build a nuclear bomb.

Mr. Bush bristled at a question about whether he had "ignored back-channel overtures" from the Iranians over possible talks about their nuclear program. Mr. Bush said that "the Iranians walked away from the table" in discussions with three European nations, and that a letter sent to him by Iran's president "didn't address the issue of whether or not they're going to continue to press for a nuclear weapon." Some in the State Department and even some of Mr. Bush's outside foreign policy advisers have said that Mr. Bush missed a diplomatic opening by deciding not to respond to the letter, though others say it is still not too late.

But the overwhelming sense from the news conference was of two battered leaders who, once confident in their judgments on Iraq, now understood that misjudgments had not only affected their approval ratings, but perhaps their legacies. The British news magazine The Economist pictured the two on a recent cover under the headline "Axis of Feeble."

And while both men sidestepped questions about how their approval ratings were linked to Iraq, at one point Mr. Bush seemed to try to buck up his most loyal ally, who is expected to leave office soon and may be in the midst of his last official visit to Washington, by telling a British reporter, "Don't count him out."

Outside the White House gates, a smattering of protesters gathered, blowing whistles and chanting, "Troops out now."

Mr. Bush called the terrorists in Iraq "totalitarians" and "Islamic fascists," a phrase he has used periodically to give the current struggle a tinge of the last great American-British alliance, during World War II. But he acknowledged that the war in Iraq had taken a significant toll in public opinion. "I mean, when you turn on your TV screen and see innocent people die day in and day out, it affects the mentality of our country," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Blair tried to focus on the current moment, saying that he had heard the complaint that "you went in with this Western concept of democracy, and you didn't understand that their whole culture was different." With a weak smile, he suggested to Mr. Bush that those who voted in Iraq had amounted to "a higher turnout, I have to say — I'm afraid to say I think — than either your election or mine."

Mr. Bush did not budge from his long-stated position that conditions in Iraq and the ability of Iraqi security forces to assume greater responsibilities would dictate whether the United States reduced the 133,000 American forces there. He said he would rely on the recommendations of Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top commander in Iraq. In an effort to cajole the new government even while he was praising it, Mr. Bush twice mentioned that it had yet to appoint a defense minister with whom to discuss troop cuts, one of the glaring gaps in the Iraqi cabinet that is symbolic of the continuing struggle over power. "We'll keep the force level there necessary to win," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Blair acknowledged that some of the 260,000 Iraqi security forces, especially the police, suffered from corruption and the influence of militias. But he said a new Iraqi government would be more able than allied officials to cope with these problems.

For those who trace Mr. Bush's own reluctance to acknowledge errors in Iraq, his statements on Thursday night seemed to mark a crossing of a major threshold. In an interview with The New York Times in August 2004, Mr. Bush said that his biggest mistake in Iraq had been underestimating the speed of initial victory over Mr. Hussein's forces, which allowed Iraqi troops to melt back into the cities and towns. When pressed, he said he could think of no other errors.

Over the winter, as public support for the war eroded, he acknowledged other mistakes — failing to plan sufficiently for the occupation and rebuilding of the country, or to execute the plans that had been made. But he described these as tactical mistakes that had been fixed.

His answer on Thursday evening, though, harked back to the two statements — "bring them on" and "dead or alive" — that his wife, Laura, had been particularly critical about. While he had apologized before for the treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib, his statement on Thursday was his starkest admission to date of the damage that the episode did to the image of the United States.

But Mr. Bush emphasized that American soldiers had been punished for the abuses. "Unlike Iraq, however, under Saddam, the people who committed those acts were brought to justice," he said. Mr. Bush's critics have noted that the prosecutions have focused on low-level soldiers and have not held senior officers accountable.

Mr. Blair, while saying that the coalition had misjudged the de-Baathification process, added: "It's easy to go back over mistakes that we may have made. But the biggest reason why Iraq has been difficult is the determination of our opponents to defeat us. And I don't think we should be surprised at that."

    Bush and Blair Concede Errors, but Defend War, NYT, 26.5.2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/26/world/middleeast/26prexy.html

The White House

Covering a Friend's Back:

Leaders Reverse the Roles

May 26, 2006
The New York Times
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY

Tony Blair has always served as the world's Bush-whisperer, but at their joint news conference last night, it was almost the reverse. Mr. Blair, the normally silver-tongued prime minister, seemed stiff and defensive, and it was Mr. Bush who tried to smooth things over and help Mr. Blair out.

British political analysts have repeatedly predicted that Mr. Blair, a lame duck whose popularity in Britain has never been lower, will be out of office as early as next year. But when a British reporter actually suggested that this was his last official Washington visit, he looked dismayed and tongue-tied.

Mr. Bush jumped in, saying with a laugh, "Don't count him out, let me tell it to you that way." He also asked the British to give his friend another chance. "I want him to be here so long as I'm the president."

That role reversal was as good a sign as any of how the two friends' political standing has eroded since they made the case together for war in Iraq. Last week even The Economist, a British magazine that has been more favorable to Mr. Blair than most, called his partnership with Mr. Bush the "Axis of Feeble."

In the past, Mr. Blair always raced to Washington to buck up Mr. Bush with his eloquence and aplomb, spending his own political capital to enhance that of the American. Mr. Bush was obviously grateful for his ally's support, yet last night he hinted that if he had to go it alone, he could take it from here — even in the realm of the English language.

Asked what he most regretted, Mr. Bush replied that he was sorry he had used terms like "bring it on" and "dead or alive," and that he had learned to express himself in a "little more sophisticated manner."

It was never an even-steven friendship; Mr. Blair risked his popularity in Britain when he stood by Mr. Bush and supported the war. In return he received gratitude, but little else.

One reason Mr. Blair's reputation is so tattered is his critics dismiss him as a poodle, doing his master's bidding. It did not help that before the war, Mr. Blair was unable to persuade his American friend to seek a second United Nations resolution authorizing military action.

He did not have much luck with other issues important to Europeans, from an effort to double aid to Africa to the need to take steps to avert global warming. (It probably did not help Mr. Blair's morale that "Stuff Happens," a play by David Hare that focuses on the imbalance of power between the White House and 10 Downing St., is on the New York stage.)

No one has been a better bedfellow for George Bush than Tony Blair, but last night the steadfast British prime minister tugged the covers to his side, adding his own, broader agenda to the subject at hand.

He spoke of "the importance of trying to unite the international community behind an agenda that means, for example, action on global poverty in Africa, and issues like Sudan; it means a good outcome to the world trade round, which is vital for the whole of the civilized world, vital for developing countries, but also vital for countries such as ourselves; for progress in the Middle East; and for ensuring that the global values that people are actually struggling for today in Iraq are global values we take everywhere and fight for everywhere that we can in our world today."

Mr. Blair came to Washington to help the president, but this time, perhaps for the first time, he looked like he needed the president's help.

    Covering a Friend's Back: Leaders Reverse the Roles, NYT, 26.5.2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/26/world/middleeast/26tvwatch.html

Blair, in Iraq,

Discusses Future of Troops

May 23, 2006
The New York Times
By JOHN F. BURNS

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 22 — Only 48 hours after Iraq's new government took office, Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, flew to Baghdad on Monday to discuss an issue crucial to the Baghdad government, as well as to the politics of the war in London and Washington: when British and American troops can start to withdraw.

Mr. Blair, who will fly to Washington on Thursday for talks with President Bush, hinted at a news conference that he came as a tribune for the coalition partners, the United States and Britain, which provide more than 90 percent of the 150,000 foreign troops now stationed here. About 7,200 of those are British, and 134,000 American.

Mr. Blair said the trip was intended to mark the milestone passed on Saturday, when the new Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, took office at the head of a national unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds with a four-year mandate. Formally, at least, that brought Iraq to the end of the political timetable laid down in late 2003 for its evolution from an occupied country back to full-fledged political independence.

The British leader acknowledged, with an edge of chagrin, how fraught a process it had been, and the price that had been paid by Iraqis and by the two nations, Britain and the United States, which together decided to topple Saddam Hussein. "It took us three years to get to this point, and it has been longer and harder than any of us would have wanted it to be," he said, with Mr. Maliki standing beside him. "This is a new beginning, and we want to see what you want to see, Iraq and Iraqis taking charge of their own destiny."

Similarly, President Bush hailed the new full-term Iraqi government while in Chicago on Monday as the historic creation of "constitutional democracy at the heart of the Middle East," but he acknowledged that the United States had made slow progress in the country and that bloodshed would continue.

"Our nation has been through three difficult years in Iraq, and the way forward will bring more days of challenge and loss," Mr. Bush said. "The progress we've made has been hard-fought, and it's been incremental."

Mr. Bush did not mention the failure of Iraqi leaders to agree on who should fill vacant posts at the important ministries of defense, interior and national security. He also gave no hint of any American troop withdrawal this year, although he said that the new government would allow the United States to play "an increasingly supporting role."

Behind the scenes, much of Mr. Blair's energies during his seven hours in Iraq focused on the future of British and American troops — an issue that may be the hardest to resolve now that the political formalities of putting Iraq back on its feet have been largely completed. While the new government and its major Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions have argued against early American or British troop draw-downs, powerful political voices in London and Washington have called for a start to withdrawals this year.

Senior Pentagon officials spoke late last year of cutting American troop strength to about 100,000 by the end of this year, but senior Bush Administration officials, including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, have backed away from such statements in recent weeks. The American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, said in a CNN interview on Sunday that with 260,000 Iraqis in the American-trained security forces and Sunnis in the new government, "it is possible that the security circumstance will also improve, but I don't believe that it will improve immediately." He said changes in the American troop commitment will depend "on what happens in Iraq in the next few weeks and months."

On the trip here, Mr. Blair and his top officials put their emphasis on sticking to a "conditions-based" formula, tying coalition troop levels to the combat readiness of Iraq's new forces. Some senior American commanders in Iraq have been arguing against significant withdrawals in the first months of the Maliki government, fearing the move would send the wrong signal to insurgents, weaken coalition forces and place potentially crippling strains on Iraqi forces that are still a long way from self-reliance.

At the news conference, Mr. Blair said there was a "very, very clear set of circumstances," involving Iraqi combat readiness, that would dictate any withdrawals. "We have to move as fast as we can on it, but it has to be done in a way that protects the Iraqi people," he said. A joint statement by Mr. Blair and Mr. Maliki suggested a key factor would be the Maliki government's judgment. "The multinational force, for its part, is committed to staying until the Iraqi government is satisfied that Iraqi forces can take on the security responsibility themselves," it said.

Mr. Maliki said that British troops would withdraw from Amara, one of the four provinces they patrol in southern Iraq, this summer, and that 16 of Iraq's 18 provinces, all but Baghdad and the war-torn region of Anbar, would have Iraqi troops in the lead by the end of the year.

For Mr. Blair, the journey came at a troubled time, with a left-wing Labor party parliamentary bloc calling for his resignation over Iraq and other issues, and the pressure showed. At one point, a BBC reporter asked him if he accepted that his "legacy as prime minister" depended on "the man standing next to you," Mr. Maliki, implying that a failure of the new government would doom Mr. Blair's standing in history. Another British reporter asked if Mr. Blair or Mr. Maliki "could honestly say" that Iraqis were better off than they were under Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Blair's tone hardened. Proof that it had been worth it, he said, was evident because "you are able to put me, the British prime minister, and the Iraqi prime minister, under pressure" in a place where any challenge to authority was potentially fatal under Mr. Hussein. "The answer to your question, is it worth it, is the fact that we are even here having this conversation, in a country that is now a democracy."

The security challenges facing the Maliki government were underscored on Monday by violence that killed at least 24 people across the country, including 12 in Baghdad.

Elisabeth Bumiller contributed reporting from Chicago for this article.

    Blair, in Iraq, Discusses Future of Troops, NYT, 23.5.2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/world/middleeast/23iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

1.15pm update

Iraqis to control security

'by end of year'

Monday May 22, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
James Sturcke and agencies


The new Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, today said Iraqis could be in control of security by the end of the year in all of the country apart from Baghdad and Anbar province.

Mr Maliki, appearing at a news conference with Tony Blair, who is visiting Baghdad, indicated that he expected the Iraqi government to begin taking over control of some of the more peaceful provinces from the multinational forces from next month.

Mr Blair declined to set out a precise timetable for the return of British troops, but said that the UK wanted to move as fast on the issue as was possible, without jeopardising security.

"We have always, under the Iraqi-isation strategy, had the perspective of building up the Iraqi security force capability and as they build up, we are able to draw down," he said. "That is what was envisaged in the UN resolution under which our forces are here. We want to move as fast as we can on it, but it has got to be done in a way that protects the security of the Iraqi people."

He added: "We have got the Iraqi forces up to a strength, I think, of round about 250,000. They come up to their full strength at the end of this year. There is the notion, which has been there for a significant period of time, of slowly being able to release individual provinces into the control of Iraqi forces."

Mr Blair stressed that the timetable for troop withdrawal depended upon the security situation in Iraq and that the formation of a new democratically elected Iraqi government marked a "new beginning" for the country.

Mr Blair's visit to the capital's heavily fortified green zone had been shrouded in secrecy, as deadly violence continued to provide the backdrop to the new administration - only agreed after months of bitter wrangling between rival factions.

Mr Blair said it was a privilege to be in Iraq to see the "energy, enthusiasm and determination" of the new government.

"It has been three years of struggle to get to this point and has been longer and harder than any of us would have wanted it to be but this is a new beginning," he said.

He told reporters he wanted to see the Iraqi people take charge of their own destiny and "write the next chapter of Iraqi history".

"For the first time we have a government of national unity that crosses divides. It is there for a four-year term and it is there elected by the votes of millions of Iraqis," Mr Blair said.

"There is no vestige of excuse for people to carry on terrorism or bloodshed."

Asked if the situation today in Iraq was any better today than under Saddam Hussein's regime, Mr Blair replied that the very fact that the British and Iraqi prime ministers were taking questions "under pressure" from reporters showed how the country had changed.

"Despite all the terrorism and bloodshed, the people have spoken and the government has been elected. That is better surely than people living under dictatorship."

Mr Blair said he had talked with his counterpart about the situation in Basra, where British troops are based. The Iraqi prime minister had promised "to work closely" with the British in coming weeks in improving the security situation in the south of the country.

Mr Maliki concurred that "Iraq was a much better place today" than it had been under dictatorship. "Iraqis were deprived of freedom and everything was a bad situation," he said. "We had no freedom."

Yesterday, the US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, voiced optimism that coalition troops could be withdrawn.

"I believe that, with the political changes taking place - the emphasis on unity and reconciliation, with effective ministers - that conditions are likely to move in the right direction, and that would allow adjustment in term of the size, composition and mission of our forces," he said.

On Saturday, Mr Blair hailed the formation of the government as a "huge step forward" after Mr Maliki's ministers were sworn in before a parliament elected by more than 12 million Iraqi voters.

A senior British official travelling with Mr Blair said the withdrawal of the present multinational force should be accomplished within four years, with a handover to civilian control in several provinces during the summer.

He stressed that was not a timetable for troop withdrawal, and was not necessarily heralding the swift repatriation of large numbers of British troops.

The official said he hoped that at least one of the four of Iraq's 18 provinces currently controlled by UK forces would be able to transfer to civilian control soon.

"Our message is one of support for a government which has now taken over the baton and will be running things for itself over a four-year period. Sovereignty is not new, independence is not new, but this length of time is new and this government is going to take the country to a position where the multinational force (MNF) can withdraw during its time in office," he said.

The official added: "During that four years, the present role and structure of the MNF will change and come to an end."

He said there might be a continuing role in training and development of Iraqi forces "but the scale of the forces that you have today will change over that four-year period".

He went on: "The UK has four provinces. I would certainly hope that at least one of our provinces would be able to transfer during the course of the summer."

That would almost certainly be al-Muthana or Maysan, the two most stable of the provinces - the others being Basra and Dhi Kar. But the official repeatedly made clear that handing over to civilian control would not lead to an immediate repatriation of British troops this summer.

Mr Blair will also meet the Iraqi president, Jalal Talibani, and members of the newly sworn-in Iraqi cabinet today, as well as Mr Khalilzad and the senior UK commander in the country, General Sir Rob Fry.

Mr Blair wants to offer technical help in setting up the fledgling administration and his visit also follows a strong message of support for Mr Maliki from the US president, George Bush.

    Iraqis to control security 'by end of year', G, 22.5.2006, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1780432,00.html

8.45am

Blair makes surprise visit to Iraq

Monday May 22, 2006
Press Association
Guardian Unlimited

The prime minister, Tony Blair, flew into Baghdad today for a surprise visit to mark the formation of a new Iraqi government which has pledged to defeat terrorism.

Mr Blair's visit to the capital's heavily-fortified green zone from Kuwait had been shrouded in secrecy, as deadly violence continued to provide the grim backdrop to the new administration - only agreed after months of bitter wrangling between rival factions.

The premier will meet his Iraqi counterpart, Nouri Maliki, for talks, and the two leaders are expected to hold a joint press conference later today.

On Saturday, Mr Blair hailed the formation of the government as a "huge step forward" after Mr Maliki's ministers were sworn in before a parliament elected by more than 12 million Iraqi voters.

The British prime minister flew into the green zone by helicopter for his second visit to Iraq's capital city early this morning.

Mr Blair was determined to show his support for the new national unity government, despite the obvious security risks.

His hair-raising helicopter ride into Baghdad followed days of bloodshed surrounding the formation of the new administration, with dozens killed and injured in a string of suicide and roadside bombs and drive-by shootings.

Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "Iraq now has a democratically-elected government which is there for a four-year term, is made up of all the different groupings within Iraq and it is very much dictating the agenda.

"We are here to show our support for that democratic government and to help it take charge of its own destiny."

A senior British official travelling with Mr Blair said the withdrawal of the present multinational force should be accomplished within four years, with a handover to civilian control in several provinces during the summer.

He stressed that was not a timetable for troop withdrawal, and was not necessarily heralding the swift repatriation of large numbers of British troops.

The senior British official said he hoped that at least one of the four of Iraq's 18 provinces currently controlled by UK forces would be able to transfer to civilian control soon.

The official said: "Our message is one of support for a government which has now taken over the baton and will be running things for itself over a four-year period.

"Sovereignty is not new, independence is not new, but this length of time is new and this government is going to take the country to a position where the multinational force (MNF) can withdraw during its time in office."

He added: "During that four years, the present role and structure of the MNF will change and come to an end."

He said there might be a continuing role in training and development of Iraqi forces "but the scale of the forces that you have today will change over that four-year period".

He went on: "The UK has four provinces. I would certainly hope that at least one of our provinces would be able to transfer during the course of the summer."

That would almost certainly be al Muthana or Maysan, the two most stable of the provinces - the others being Basra and Dhi Kar.

But the official repeatedly made clear that handing over to civilian control would not lead to an immediate repatriation of British troops this summer.

Mr Blair will also meet Iraqi president Jalal Talibani and members of the newly sworn-in Iraqi cabinet today, as well as the US ambassador to Iraq and the senior UK commander in the country, General Sir Rob Fry.

Mr Blair wants to offer technical help in setting up the fledgling administration and his visit also follows a strong message of support for Premier Maliki from the US president George Bush.

    Blair makes surprise visit to Iraq, G, 22.5.2006, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1780432,00.html

Blair in surprise Baghdad visit

May 22, 2006
Times Online
By Times Online and agencies in Baghdad

Tony Blair made a surprise visit to Baghdad today to show support for Iraq’s new government and discuss future troop levels as Britain and the United States hand over security to Iraqi forces over the next four years.

The Prime Minister flew by helicopter into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone to meet US and British military commanders and members of the country's new government. He is expected to hold a joint press conference later in the day with Nouri al-Maliki, his new Iraqi counterpart.

An official accompanying Mr Blair on his fifth visit to Iraq said that Iraq’s national unity government - finalised at the weekend after months of wrangling - will accelerate the handover of security control from United States-led forces, allowing the UK to pull some troops out by mid-year.

"The aim is to take Iraq to a position where the multinational force is able to withdraw during its [the Iraqi government’s] period in office," the official told reporters on Mr Blair's aircraft. "During the four years, the present role and structure of the multinational force will change and come to an end."

Beyond the four-year term, some troops would stay in a non-combat role to train Iraqis.

The official, who asked not to be named, said he expected some of Britain’s 7,200 troops - who mostly patrol Iraq’s south - to withdraw in the next few months.

"We’ve got four provinces. I would hope at least one of our provinces is able to transfer over the summer," he said. But he said that Basra, where most British troops are based, remained too dangerous to begin the draw-down.

The transfer of security to Iraqi troops was most advanced in Maysan and Muthanna provinces. In Dhi Qar and Basra progress was slower.

Mr Blair is due to visit Washington later this week for discussions with President Bush on future strategy in Iraq. The United States is also preparing to set a timetable for the withdrawal of its 130,000 troops in Iraq.

    Blair in surprise Baghdad visit, Times Online, 22.5.2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-2191603,00.html

New law could hand out life sentences for Iraq deserters

Published: 20 May 2006
The Independent
By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor

Soldiers who refuse to serve in Iraq could face life imprisonment under controversial plans to reform the existing system of courts martial.

Campaigners for justice in the armed forces claimed yesterday that the Government was clamping down on dissent because of the growing opposition to the war. Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith was jailed for eight months by a court martial for refusing to serve in Iraq, but campaigners said the Armed Forces Bill will open so-called "refuseniks" to a life sentence.

Rebel anti-war Labour MPs tabled an amendment to the Bill's final stages this week to remove the clause which they claim could lead to life imprisonment. They propose replacing life imprisonment for desertion with a maximum of two years in jail.

John McDonnell, chairman of the left-wing Campaign Group of Labour MPs, said: "These new provisions are a heavy-handed attempt to intimidate those in the armed forces who out of conscience might object to participating in a military occupation of a foreign country, such as Iraq."

Alan Simpson, a Labour MP and leading member of the Campaign Group, said: "It is bizarre and nonsensical that you get early release for murder or rape but you face the prospect of life imprisonment for refusing to kill."

Former army officers briefed Labour MPs at a private meeting in the Commons this week and urged them to reject the Bill. Ben Griffin, who refused to return to Iraq and resigned from the SAS, said: "I didn't join the British Army to conduct American foreign policy."

Atease, a campaign group for soldiers and their families, said: "The UK Government, worried that the number of soldiers absconding from the Army has trebled since the invasion of Iraq, is legislating to repress this movement in the military." They claimed that the Bill contravened the principles outlined at the Nuremberg hearings for the former leaders of Nazi Germany enshrining in international law the responsibility of individuals to refuse to obey illegal and immoral orders from any government.

The Ministry of Defence denied that the Bill imposed tougher sentences. But Gilbert Blades, a lawyer specialising in courts martial cases, said: "They are making a tougher definition of desertion." Mr Blades, who gave evidence to a select committee hearing on the Bill, said it could be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights.

Section 8 of the Bill makes it clear that a soldier commits an offence if he deserts by going absent without leave permanently, or to avoid any particular service in the armed forces.

The punishment for some forms of desertion - such as going AWOL for a short time while not trying to avoid service - is currently limited to a maximum of two years' imprisonment. But the Bill specifically states that those going AWOL to avoid serving during a military occupation, as in Iraq, could be jailed for life.

    New law could hand out life sentences for Iraq deserters, I, 20.5.2006, http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article548953.ece

Dead soldiers flown home as British presence in Basra is questioned

Published: 19 May 2006
The Independent
By Kim Sengupta

Five military coffins, bearing the latest British dead from Iraq, arrived home yesterday. At the same time, 105 people died during two days of carnage in Afghanistan ­ the next battleground for British forces.

The bodies returning were of five personnel killed when their helicopter was shot down north of Basra. They included Flt-Lt Sarah Mulvihill, 32, the first British woman to be killed in the conflict.

Her husband, Lee, watched as the coffins, covered in Union flags, which had left Iraq after a ceremony at sunset in Basra in a C-17 Globemaster, were carried to waiting hearses at RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, with the band of Britannia Royal Naval College playing laments.

He described her as a "best friend" and "beloved wife", whose loss "has greatly affected and impacted on more people than anyone can comprehend."

Group-Cpt Duncan Welham, station commander of RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, where Flt-Lt Mulvihill was based, added: "Sarah was one the RAF's finest: courageous, upbeat, unselfish."

The casualties had come in a particularly grim week for British troops in the country, amid sweeping violence which shows no signs of abating three years after the American and British "liberation". There were seven deaths and four injuries.

North-west of Baghdad yesterday, four American soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter died when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle, taking the death toll of US military to 2,455 since the beginning of the Iraq war.

In Basra, where most of Britain's 8,000 soldiers are based, General Hassan Swadi, chief of the police force, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb hit his convoy as he was going to work.

Despite assurances by the Defence minister Des Browne that the situation was under control while visiting the city, the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, discussed the situation in Basra with his Shia and Sunni Vice-Presidents, Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Tariq al-Hashimi.

"We are following this issue closely, not because other parts of Iraq are violence-free, but because of the importance of the city with regard to the security of the south as a whole and the economy of Iraq," Mr Abdul-Mahdi said.

Hundreds of people have staged demonstrations in recent days and Basra's governor fired the provincial police chief last week amid charges that he was doing little to control the violence.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, experienced some of the fiercest fighting since the toppling of the Taliban and their al-Qa'ida allies four years ago. At least 100 people died when, in the course of 48 hours, a full-scale assault was made on a town by a resurgent Taliban; coalition forces were engaged in several firefights; and two suicide-bomb attacks were made as American forces carried out air strikes.

There was also political fallout from the Iraqi side of the "war on terror". In Rome, the new Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, pledged to bring all Italian troops home as soon as possible. "We consider the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country a great error" he said. " It has not resolved, but complicated, the situation of security. Terrorism has found a new base in Iraq and new excuses for attacks both inside and outside the country."

In London, officials have repeatedly stressed that British forces will " see it through to the end" in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military commanders, however, are deeply apprehensive about fighting a war on two fronts. They have warned that resources will be at their tightest stretch in maintaining such commitment in both countries.

The demands on British troops in both countries led to criticism from Sir Menzies Campbell, the leader of the Liberal Democrats. He said: "The competing demands of Afghanistan and Iraq have undoubtedly placed a great burden on our armed forces. Sooner or later something has got to give. Only professionalism and commitment have enabled us to meet our obligations."

Meanwhile, relatives of British troops killed in Iraq, who have been asking in vain to meet the Prime Minister, have been invited to attend a reception at the Gloucestershire home of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon died two years ago, and Reg Keys, whose son Thomas died in 2003, have received letters inviting them to Highgrove on 29 June. Mrs Gentle said: "It is a disgrace that Prince Charles will meet us, but the Prime Minister will not.We have been trying to meet Tony Blair for years."

    Dead soldiers flown home as British presence in Basra is questioned, I, 19.5.2006, http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article548113.ece

British servicewoman's body comes home

May 19, 2006
The Times

THE coffin of Flight Lieutenant Sarah Mulvihill, 32, was brought back to RAF Brize Norton yesterday. The first British servicewoman to be killed in Iraq was one of five British personnel to die when a Lynx helicopter crashed on May 6. The cause is under investigation.

Her husband, Sergeant Lee Mulvihill, was among those gathered to see her coffin return. “Sarah was my best friend and my most beloved wife,” he said, “highly loved and respected by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. Her love of sport and outdoor activities was only outshone by her commitment to the Royal Air Force, of which she and I are extremely proud to be a part.”

The others killed were Wing Commander John Coxen, 46, Captain David Dobson, 27, Lieutenant-Commander Darren Chapman, 40, a father of three, and Marine Paul Collins, 21.

    British servicewoman's body comes home, Ts, 19.5.2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-2187734,00.html

British soldiers die as helicopter is shot down. Then Basra erupts in bloody gun battles

Sunday May 7, 2006
The Observer
Jason Burke and Ned Temko

Bloddy battles were fought on the streets of Basra last night after a British helicopter crashed in the city, reportedly killing four airmen and drawing an Iraqi crowd shouting 'Victory to the Mahdi army'.

At least three British army vehicles were set on fire as the crowd hurled petrol bombs at troops trying to reach the blazing wreckage. Iraqi police officials believed the aircraft had been brought down by a shoulder-fired missile. Four charred bodies were seen inside it, reports said.

In the ensuing fighting, unconfirmed reports suggested that four Iraqis - some of them bystanders and thought to include a child - had also been killed. Soldiers fired three live rounds as they moved to seal off the area. A curfew was imposed from 8pm local time in a bid to restore calm.

Des Browne, made Defence Secretary only hours earlier in the cabinet reshuffle, expressed his sympathies to the families of those affected saying: 'This tragic incident reminds us of the risks our servicemen and women face every day in helping to support the emerging democracy in Iraq and give all Iraqis hope for a better future.'

While it was clear that there were no survivors, the Ministry of Defence was trying to establish how many people had been on board the helicopter. If it has been shot down, it would be the most serious attack on British troops in the southern Iraqi city for over a year, bringing the number of UK soldiers killed by attacks in Iraq to 108.

The scenes of several hundred Iraqis yelling their opposition to the coalition's military presence, carried on Arabic TV throughout the day, could also call into question Blair's hopes of Iraq stabilising sufficiently to begin reducing the British presence.

Iraqi police captain Mushtaq Khazim said the helicopter had been shot down in a residential district and that several witnesses had described seeing an explosion on board before it crashed.

Major Sebastian Muntz, British army spokesman in Basra, said the situation had been 'quite tense' but hoped it had been an isolated incident.

However a missile strike could herald a new threat to British forces in Basra, which have faced less serious attacks than US forces stationed further north. Most British casualties have been the result of increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs, though 'hostile fire' brought down a transport plane last year, killing 10 people. British forces have relied more heavily on helicopters to avoid the roadside attacks.'A successful militant missile strike would be a very serious problem for us,' said a recently retired British senior army officer.

Within minutes of the crash, British forces, backed by armoured vehicles, rushed to the area. They were met by a hail of stones from a crowd of several hundred shaking fists and dancing as the smoke rose.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani last night sent condolences to the British families. 'I can assure you that Iraqis continue to honour and appreciate the efforts and sacrifice made by Her Majesty's forces,' he said.

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox and Lib Dem spokesman Nick Harvey both issued statements expressing sympathy for the families of the victims but said the crash raised broader questions. Harvey said the 'appalling incident' reinforced the need for a British 'exit strategy' from Iraq.

    British soldiers die as helicopter is shot down. Then Basra erupts in bloody gun battles, O, 7.5.2006, http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1769379,00.html

How Basra riots turned bloody

Jason Burke explains how the southern Iraqi city turned into a cauldron of violence after a British helicopter crashed

Sunday May 7, 2006
The Observer

If you want to take on a major army in an urban street fight, there are worse places than Basra. The southern port city is a perfect mix of wide open streets - allowing armoured columns or heavily armed troops to penetrate rapidly, which then allows them to be hounded.

The British army had been trying to avoid this particular trap for a long time. Yesterday they found themselves deliberately walking into it, having effectively having set their own bait in the form of the British military helicopter that crashed in a residential area, reportedly killing four British servicemen at around 11am yesterday. If confirmed, the deaths will mark one of the most serious single losses for British forces in Iraq for over a year and come at a critical time for Tony Blair and British forces in Iraq. Equally, if a suspected missile strike is confirmed, it will mark a major step forward in the local insurgents' capabilities, and a serious blow to the UK deployment.

But initially the problem was elsewhere. For the troops of the Battle Group Basra, Highlanders and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards under the command of the Seventh armoured division, the priority was to reach and secure the site of the crash without being dragged into a Black hawk Down scenario.

'We can confirm that there has been a helicopter crash in Basra,' said Major Sebastian Muntz, a British military spokesman in the city. 'British troops are on the scene assisting and emergency services are present.' It was fire crews fighting the flames around the helicopters who told local reporters that there were four charred bodies.

As the British troops moved into the site they were met by a hail of stones from a crowd of several hundred angry people. Molotov cocktails impacted on the armour of the Warrior fighting vehicles sending gouts of orange fire into the air. Soldiers emerged periodically to douse the flames.

As word of the incident spread, the crowds grew. They also changed in character. Where they had earlier been spontaneous, they soon took on a more organised nature. A clue as to why lay in the chants the rioters hurled at the troops: 'Victory to the Mehdi Army', they shouted, a reference to the armed militia of the radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. His men - and the Medhi army - have repeatedly been responsible for violent unrest in Basra and elsewhere in southern and central Iraq, though the extent of their involvement in bombings and missile strikes is unclear.

Last September, British forces arrested two officials of Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to al-Sadr, raising tensions. About a week later, militiamen and residents clashed with British troops after two British soldiers in local clothes were detained by Iraqi authorities before being freed in a raid by British forces.

The most senior Shia cleric in the region, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has proved a strong moderating influence but is engaged in a power struggle with al-Sadr and has not always been able to keep growing anti-coalition fervour among the local population under control.

Much of al-Sadr's strategy depends on drawing British troops out of their heavily defended bases and into the streets. Yesterday they came to him. Soon it was small arms as well as rocks that were being used and, though reports are unclear, with British officials denying using anything other than plastic baton rounds, it appears that rapid gunfights, as over as soon as they had begun, swept the rubbish-choked alleyways.

Morgue staff in Basra have confirmed that four dead locals admitted during the confused hours of yesterday afternoon and Iraqi security forces, known to be trigger happy, were also involved in attempts to contain the violence.

If the attack, which may have taken the toll of British soldiers in Iraq to 108, is indeed a missile strike the consequences could be serious. Most British casualties caused by hostile action in Basra have been the result of remotely detonated roadside bombs, though 'hostile fire' that hit a fuel tank brought down a transport plane, killing 10 last year.

'We rely very heavily on helicopters in the south of Iraq to minimise travel by road and successful militant missile strike would be a very serious problem for us,' said one recently retired British senior army officer. 'It could push up casualties significantly.'

Britain has about 8,000 troops based in the mostly Shia Basra area, though southern Iraq has long been less violent than Baghdad and western Iraq tensions are still high. Senior British officials have privately blamed much of the anti-coalition agitation on Iranian government agents infiltrated from the neighbouring state.

The most recent incident comes at the beginning of the hot season when temperatures soar and the failure of the coalition to successfully provide electricity and water to millions of people in southern Iraq is resented more profoundly than ever.

As night fell yesterday, the situation had calmed and a curfew was in place. Nevertheless one analyst was prompted to comment: 'We can expect a hot summer, from every point of view.'

    How Basra riots turned bloody, O, 7.5.2006, http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1769527,00.html

Iraqi, 15, 'drowned after soldiers forced him into canal'

· Four face court martial accused of manslaughter
· Aim was allegedly to teach suspected looter a lesson

Wednesday May 3, 2006
Guardian
Jeevan Vasagar

An Iraqi teenager drowned after four British soldiers forced him into a canal at gunpoint to "teach him a lesson" for suspected looting, a court martial heard yesterday.

The soldiers watched as Ahmed Jabar Karheem, 15, who was unable to swim, began to struggle when he was ordered into the Shatt al-Basra canal in May 2003. After the boy disappeared below the surface, the soldiers drove away. His body was recovered two days later.

"Karheem was in obvious distress as he was unable to swim," Orlando Pownall QC, prosecuting, told the court martial in Colchester. "His head bobbed to the surface and then disappeared. One of the soldiers who was at the bank of the canal made as if to remove his clothing in order to rescue Karheem but then returned to the Warrior tank, which drove away."

Lance Corporal James Cooke, 22, Guardsman Joseph McCleary, 24, and Guardsman Martin McGing, 22, of the Irish Guards are charged with manslaughter with their commander, Colour Sergeant Carle Selman, 39, of the Coldstream Guards. All four deny the charges.

The trial will turn the spotlight on British attempts to restore order to Iraq in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's defeat.

At the time, looting in Basra was "of epidemic proportions", Mr Pownall said. "There was no real guidance as to how best to deal with them. It might be said that the coalition forces were ill-prepared for the occupation of Iraq and maintenance of the peace and received insufficient guidance." But he said that while the task of maintaining law and order was "onerous", there had been no need in this case to use force.

Mr Pownall said three of the defendants gave conflicting accounts and there was only one witness, another alleged looter, who is due to give evidence today. But "a clear picture emerges of their common design or plan to force the alleged looters into the water to teach them a lesson".

The prosecution says that when the army investigated the incident, officers faced a "deliberate attempt to mislead them" by the soldiers. One told "a pack of lies" in an attempt to protect himself and his colleagues. The four soldiers had helped Iraqi police to detain four suspected looters on May 8 2003. The soldiers had been due to leave Iraq the next day. They drove the youths in a Warrior armoured vehicle to the al-Zubayr bridge, which spans the Shatt al-Basra canal.

One of the suspects, Aiad Salim Hanon, 25, an unemployed welder, alleged that he had been beaten by two of the soldiers, made to strip and forced into a hole filled with stagnant water. When the suspected looters came out of the water they were tied together in pairs and made to climb a high wall.

After that, they were driven away in an armoured vehicle, where they were beaten further. In a statement quoted by the prosecution, Hanon alleged they were forced at gunpoint down a muddy slope into the canal, a tidal waterway which is two metres deep. Two soldiers threw bricks or stones at them while they were in the water.

Neither he nor Karheem - who had asthma - could swim. Karheem could not even tread water, and appeared to panic, Hanon claimed. One of the soldiers appeared to want to rescue the boy but one of the other soldiers told him to get into the vehicle, Hanon alleged.

Hanon got out of the water after the soldiers left and told Karheem's father, who went to the bridge to search for his son's body. The body was recovered two days later. The court heard that postmortem examinations were conducted on June 21 2003 by consultant pathologist Stephen Cullen, who could not determine the cause of death because the body had decomposed.

Mr Pownall said that even if the soldiers had not thought about their behaviour, "all sober and reasonable people would realise that their unlawful actions must have subjected the 15-year-old boy to the risk of at least some physical harm".

According to the prosecution, when Guardsman McCleary returned to the British base in Basra, he told other soldiers in the restroom "that he had taken looters to the river and that one of them had drowned".

Mr Pownall said: "He also told the others not to mention what he had told them as Sgt Selman had told him not to say anything. McCleary was not in shock and it was as if he was telling them something normal."

The trial continues today.

    Iraqi, 15, 'drowned after soldiers forced him into canal', G, 3.5.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,1766302,00.html

4.30pm update

Senior Tory calls for withdrawal from Iraq

Friday April 21, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Staff and agencies


A senior Conservative MP has gone against party policy to call for British troops to withdraw from Iraq before they become "part of the problem" and conceded that his original decision to back the war in 2003 was a mistake.

The former shadow foreign secretary, Michael Ancram, said Iraq is effectively in a state of civil war and it would be both "pointless and dangerous" for troops to remain there.

Tory policy has been that soldiers should stay as long as necessary.

Speaking to Guardian Unlimited, Mr Ancram said it was time to "take stock" of troops' ongoing presence in light of the country's slide into civil war.

"We have done a lot of work in reconstruction in the south of Iraq," he told GU today. "There has to come a time when we take stock of what further we can do."

The build up of local security forces in the country meant coalition troops should now be able to hand over and withdraw from the fray "with honour and dignity," he said.

"The real problem is now effectively in a state of civil war and that is not something in which I believe we have a role to play."

Mr Ancram first resurrected his concerns over the ongoing presence of British troops in Iraq in an article for the Daily Mail today in which he compared the situation to Vietnam.

"We have no place in Iraq in a civil war," he said. "We cannot and must not take sides between Sunnis and Shias."

He added that, "having set out at the beginning to be part of the solution it is now sadly evident that we are in danger of becoming the problem".

He conceded in the article that he had voted for the war in Iraq in 2003 fearing the threat of weapons of mass destruction, but added: "On this I was wrong. So were many others."

He said he continued to back the war after the failure to find WMDs in the hope that it would make the Middle East more stable, but even those goals were now out of sight.

Mr Ancram said Iraq had never recovered from the "idiotic disbandment of the Iraqi security apparatus" after the war.

A Tory spokesman told the Daily Mail Mr Ancram was "entitled to his views".

But his decision to go against the party line is nevertheless likely to raise eyebrows within the party.

Earlier this week, the Tory party chairman, Francis Maude, sought to silence party dissenters by telling them to "shut up, get on with their jobs or, perhaps even better, leave".

The Labour party is likely to use Mr Ancram's decision to oppose the official Tory line to highlight party disunity and disarray over foreign policy.

Mr Ancram said he had been entirely consistent and as long ago as last August, when he was shadow defence secretary, he had said if there was a civil war Britain would have to consider pulling out.

Mr Ancram said British troops had done a good job in Iraq. But he said it had been a mistake to disband the Iraqi security forces and abandon the US postwar reconstruction plan.

"We have been there three years. I think we have done all we can - we have done very well in our area in the south," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"But I believe we are now seeing a situation of civil war and I think it's always been the case that it wasn't for us to remain to hold the ring in a civil war."

    Senior Tory calls for withdrawal from Iraq, G, 21.4.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1758378,00.html

The man who says he sat in judgment on murdered hostage Kenneth Bigley

Thursday April 20, 2006
Guardian
Ian Cobain in Istanbul


A senior al-Qaida terrorist in custody in Turkey has claimed he was a member of the gang that abducted and murdered the British hostage Kenneth Bigley, the Guardian has learned.

Louia Sakka, a Syrian associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the organisation's leader in Iraq, maintains that he presided over a mock trial of Mr Bigley shortly before the 62-year-old was beheaded.

Sakka made the confession while being questioned about his alleged role in suicide bomb attacks against four targets in Istanbul, including the British consulate general and the local headquarters of the HSBC bank, in which 61 people died and more than 600 were injured.

He was arrested after a later explosion ripped through the bomb factory he had constructed inside an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean at the resort of Antalya, where he was planning to attack an Israeli cruise liner.

Sakka's defence lawyer says the terrorist has repeated his claims about his involvement in Mr Bigley's murder to him, and is convinced they are true. "My client has been a warrior for Islam for the last 10 years," said the lawyer, Osman Karahan.

So far, however, Sakka has refused to say who carried out the murder, or reveal the whereabouts of Mr Bigley's body.

Although Sakka is thought to have been in Iraq at the time of Mr Bigley's murder, and is believed to have close links to Zarqawi, his claim is difficult to verify. Foreign Office officials were unaware of the claim until contacted by the Guardian and are now seeking to interview him in prison in Istanbul. Mr Bigley's brother, Phil, said: "Anything that would help with the closure of this matter would be welcome."

Sakka, 33, is accused of bankrolling the bomb attacks in Istanbul in November 2003 with $160,000 allegedly handed to him by Zarqawi. Turkish authorities discovered he had slipped in and out of the country at least 55 times, using 18 different identities, and say there is evidence that he underwent plastic surgery on several occasions to change his appearance.

Sakka claims to have met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, says he provided false passports for some of the September 11 attackers, and that he fought with insurgents in Falluja.

Prosecutors in Istanbul say he was a member of a group that beheaded a Turkish truck driver in Iraq, while Jordanian authorities suspect he was involved in a plot to bomb hotels and tourist sites around Amman on New Year's Eve 1999.

Sakka admits that he was intending to attack the cruise liner but denies any role in the Istanbul attacks.

    The man who says he sat in judgment on murdered hostage Kenneth Bigley, G, 20.4.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,1757205,00.html

The al-Qaida fighter shaped by demagogues and plastic surgeons

· Zarqawi associate linked to bombings that killed 61
· Sakka has admitted role in Bigley kidnap, says lawyer

Thursday April 20, 2006
Guardian
Ian Cobain in Istanbul

Of all the fearsome and unfathomable figures who have waged jihad for al-Qaida, Louia Sakka has emerged as one of the most perplexing.
He is a man whose thinking was shaped by Islamist preachers and demagogues in Damascus and Kabul, while his face was shaped by a series of plastic surgeons in Turkey, Syria and, possibly, Germany.

Sakka stands trial next month, accused of financing four suicide bombings in Istanbul. Sixty-one people died in the November 2003 attacks on the British consulate general, the local headquarters of HSBC bank, and two synagogues. More than 600 were injured; some survivors still receive psychiatric help.

He admits attempting to build a massive bomb for a planned attack on an Israeli cruise liner in the Mediterranean. He also says he fought alongside Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at Falluja, proudly acknowledges killing a number of American soldiers, and is alleged to have been involved in the beheading of a Turkish truck driver.

Mock trial

While he denies any role in the Istanbul bombings, Sakka makes no attempt to conceal the blood on his hands. Appearing in court in Istanbul last month he refused to stand before the judge. "Why should I?" he shouted. "I have fought the jihad. I have killed Americans!"

Now Sakka also claims to have played a role in the death of Kenneth Bigley. The terrorist's lawyer, Osman Karahan, says his client was a member of the gang that held the 62-year-old contractor from Liverpool for three weeks before murdering him in October 2004.

"He was one of the men who interrogated Bigley. He says they put Bigley on trial, found him guilty and executed him," Mr Karahan told the Guardian. "My client was the chief of the court. He wants Mr Bigley's family to know that he was not killed for no reason. This was justice. If he had committed a serious offence in the United States, he would have been executed, and it was the same for him in Iraq."

What "charge" Mr Bigley faced during the mock trial is not clear. Nor has Sakka revealed the whereabouts of the Briton's remains, although his lawyer says he knows where they lie.

Sakka says Zarqawi ordered Mr Bigley's death when he realised the British government would not agree to his demands for the release of all female prisoners being held by US and British forces.

Mr Karahan, a fellow Islamist, is happy to confirm many of his client's worst offences. Indeed, being interviewed at his sixth-storey office overlooking the Galatasaray football stadium, he said: "He's a master of disguise. He's another Carlos."

Mr Karahan says that his client has a wife and three children and, until the mid-1990s, worked for his father, a successful detergent company owner in Aleppo, northern Syria. It was while working as the company's salesman in Damascus that he appears to have come into contact with those who were to propel him towards Afghanistan.

Sakka, 33, who has a Turkish grandfather and speaks Turkish, is thought to have helped train would-be terrorists at a camp for Turkish mujahideen on the Afghan-Pakistan border. He says he met Osama bin Laden, and it appears likely that he would have come into contact with the man who would mastermind the Istanbul attacks, Habib Akdas, a Turkish veteran of the Afghan jihad.

At some point in the late 90s Sakka moved to Turkey, where he began acquiring forged and stolen passports to aid the passage of other militants. He claims to have obtained passports for some of the 9/11 attackers. Turkish police believe he entered the country 55 times over 10 years, using 18 different identities.

After comparing photographs in some of the passports used by Sakka, and then examining him at Istanbul's Kandira high- security prison, police realised he had undergone extensive plastic surgery.

His main role in the Istanbul attacks, according to prosecutors, was to provide $160,000 to allow Akdas and others to rent safe houses and a workshop, buy the material and components needed to build four massive bombs, and then buy the small trucks that would carry them to their targets.

Own goal

Others recruited the bombers. Mesut Cabuk, 29, a Kurd from the eastern city of Bingol who had spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan, targeted the Beth Israel synagogue in the north of the city. His friend Gokhan Elaltunas, 22, the manager of an internet cafe in Bingol, detonated his bomb at Neve Shalom synagogue, three miles away. Five days later Ilyas Kuncak, 47, a grandfather who had two homes and a profitable shop in Ankara, ploughed his bomb-laden truck into the front of the 18-storey HSBC building. It later transpired that he was driven to murder by Turkish press reports about American soldiers raping 4,000 Iraqi women. The reports, entirely erroneous, had been based upon a misreading of a blog posted by a Californian "sex therapist".

At the same time Feridun Ugurlu, 27, who had fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya, detonated his bomb near the entrance to the consulate. The building was chosen at the last moment, partly because of relatively lax security, according to prosecutors. Among those who died were Roger Short, the consul, Lisa Hallworth, his secretary, Nanette Kurma, a translator from Ayrshire, and seven Turkish members of staff. Most of the dead and almost all of the injured were Muslims, and some observers believe that the attacks, mounted during Ramadan, would have been seen by al-Qaida's supporters as a disastrous own goal. Mehmet Farac, a Turkish writer and journalist who monitors al-Qaida, said: "All four attacks were big strategic mistakes."

When news broke of the first blasts, however, Sakka and Akdas were safe in Aleppo, and according to the testimony of one witness both burst into cheers. By the following March, the two men were fighting alongside Zarqawi in Iraq. Akdas is thought to have died during one of the US assaults on the insurgents' stronghold at Fallujah, where he is said to be buried under a football pitch. At least two other men involved in the Istanbul attacks are being held in Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad according to Turkish authorities.

Shortly after Mr Bigley's murder Sakka returned to Turkey. He was armed, according to Mr Karahan, with $500,000 from al-Zarqawi and a plan to kill as many Israelis as possible in an attack so far out at sea that no Muslims would be endangered. He bought an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean at Antalya, rented a 27ft yacht, and acquired a small submersible, a sort of underwater jetski that divers can ride at depths of 75ft. He also bought enough hydrogen peroxide, aluminium powder and acetone to assemble a one-tonne bomb, telling suppliers that he was working for a Damascus timber-bleaching company.

He fled Antalya on August 4 after a fire in his apartment triggered a small explosion that sent debris showering into the street. In his haste he abandoned many of his fake passports. A few days later he was arrested at an airport in the south-east of the country by a policeman who had a copy of his most recent photograph.

Confession

Sakka initially admitted financing the Istanbul attacks, but has since withdrawn his confession. His lawyer says he made that admission after Turkish police threatened to hand him over to US authorities. "He knew that if the Americans got him he could end up in a Jordanian prison where he could be cut into little pieces," Mr Karahan said.

CIA officers have interviewed Sakka, but did not question him about Mr Bigley, according to Mr Karahan. "The Americans aren't interested in Bigley, they have 50 Bigleys." However, British authorities investigating the abduction and murder of Mr Bigley are now hoping to interview Sakka in prison. The Foreign Office said: "This case and similar cases are not regarded as closed."

Next month Sakka goes on trial alongside 70 other people accused of playing a part in the suicide bombings. If convicted he faces a minimum of 27 years behind bars.

    The al-Qaida fighter shaped by demagogues and plastic surgeons, G, 20.4.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,1757246,00.html

Prisoner of conscience: RAF doctor who refused Iraq service is jailed

Doctor. RAF officer. And now war criminal. Flt Lt Malcolm Kendall-Smith was yesterday jailed for refusing to serve in Iraq

Published: 14 April 2006
The Independent
By Kim Sengupta

An RAF doctor who refused to serve in Iraq because he believed the war to be illegal was jailed for eight months yesterday.

The conviction and imprisonment of Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the first member of the armed forces to be charged with disobeying orders to deploy in Iraq, has provoked widespread condemnation. Anti-war groups declared that a man who had shown great moral courage and acted according to his conscience was being pilloried for his beliefs.

MPs said that the high-profile case illustrated the "legal quagmire" created by Tony Blair's decision to follow George Bush and take part in the conflict.

Kendall-Smith's lawyers said they had received more than 500 messages of support, many of them from serving and former members of the forces.

Bitter accusations and recriminations dominated the trial, which took place at Aldershot barracks. At an earlier hearing, Assistant Judge Advocate Jack Bayliss had ruled the doctor could not use the defence that in refusing military orders he had acted according to his conscience. The judge maintained that the US and British forces were now in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government.

Judge Advocate Bayliss also refused to allow the defence to call as witnesses, among others, Ben Griffin, a member of the SAS who resigned from the Army because he believed the Iraq war was illegal and who refused to serve alongside US forces because of the excesses they committed. Also barred was an Iraqi doctor who had flown to Britain to describe his experience of what has happened to the country following the invasion.

During the hearing Kendall-Smith repeatedly expressed his view that an order for him to deploy to Basra was illegal. He also described the actions of the Americans in Iraq as being akin to the Nazis.

It took the military jury of five RAF officers just one hour and 28 minutes to find Kendall-Smith guilty on all five charges of disobeying orders.

Judge Advocate Bayliss accused Kendall-Smith, a former university tutor of moral philosophy, of "amazing arrogance" and seeking to be a "martyr". The sentence was intended to make an example of him and serve as a warning to others in the forces.

"Obedience of orders is at the heart of any disciplined force. Refusal to obey orders means the force is not a disciplined force but a rabble. Those who wear the Queen's uniform cannot pick and choose which orders they will obey. Those who seek to do so must face the serious consequences," he said.

"We have considered carefully whether it would be sufficient to dismiss you from the Royal Air Force and fine you as well. We do not think that we could possibly be justified in taking such a lenient course. It would send a message to all those who wear the Queen's uniform that it does not matter if they refuse to carry out the policy of Her Majesty's government."

A spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force Prosecuting Authority said: "It is right that Flt Lt Kendall-Smith was prosecuted for disobeying legal orders. British troops are operating in Iraq under a United Nations mandate and at the invitation of the Iraqi government."

As well as the sentence, which will be served in a civilian prison, Kendall-Smith was ordered to pay £20,000 towards his defence costs which were covered by legal aid. The court heard that he had personal savings of £20,000. His solicitor, Justin Hughston-Roberts said the intention was to appeal against both conviction and sentence.

Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on defence, said "Hostility to the war is not just confined to the public at large, many members of the armed forces share their concern and have genuine moral objections to serving in Iraq.

"This case illustrates the legal quagmire that has developed over the Government's decision to go to war. The Government has repeatedly had to hunt around to find legal justification for this war."

The former Labour MP Tam Dalyell said: "Any servicemen has obligations, but a doctrine was laid down at Nuremberg [trials of Nazis for war crimes] that when orders seem to be a crime against humanity, it was not a sufficient excuse to say simply: 'They were orders and I was doing what I was told.'"

Kate Hudson, chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "Many people believe the war in Iraq was an illegal war and therefore we would consider he was quite within his rights and it was indeed commendable he believed it was right to stand up to what he considered to be an illegal instruction to engage in an illegal war. We have full sympathy for him and he has our full support. We consider it to be a commendable and moral act."

Lindsey German, convener for the Stop the War Coalition, said: "The majority of public opinion agree this war was not based on international law."

Why he sacrificed his career and his liberty

"I have been convicted and sentenced, a very distressing experience. But I still believe I was right to make the stand that I did and refuse to follow orders to deploy to Iraq - orders I believe were illegal. I am resigned to what may happen to me in the next few months. I shall remain resilient and true to my beliefs which, I believe, are shared by so many others."

"Iraq was the only reason I could not follow the order to deploy. As a commissioned officer, I am required to consider every order given to me. Further, I am required to consider the legality of such an order not only as to its effect on domestic but also international law. I was subjected, as was the entire population, to propaganda depicting force against Iraq to be lawful. I have studied in very great depth the various commentaries and briefing notes, including one prepared by the Attorney General, and in particular the main note to the PM dated 7 March 2003. I have satisfied myself that the actions of the armed forces with the deployment of troops were an illegal act - as indeed was the conflict. To comply with an order that I believe unlawful places me in breach of domestic and international law, something I am not prepared to do."

"The invasion and occupation of Iraq is a campaign of imperial military conquest and falls into the category of criminal acts. I would have had criminal responsibility vicariously if I had gone to Iraq. I still have two great loves in life - medicine and the RAF. To take the decision that I did caused great sadness, but I had no other choice."

______

'Criminals' in Blair's Britain
 

Maya Evans

She became the first person to be convicted under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005 last December. She had been arrested with Milan Rai at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, for reading out the names of British soldiers killed in Iraq. She was given a conditional discharge by Bow Street magistrates and ordered to pay £100 costs.

Brian Haw

Mr Haw, 56, has held a protest against Britain's involvement in Iraq in Parliament Square since 2001, sleeping in the square. He was the intended target of SOCPA, which states that anyone demonstrating in a half-mile zone in central London must have police permission, but he won a legal battle to continue because his protest began before the law was introduced. The Government has taken the matter to the Court of Appeal.

Milan Rai

On Wednesday, Mr Rai was fined £350 and ordered to pay £150 in costs for his unauthorised demonstration at the Cenotaph, where he read out the names of UK soldiers killed in Iraq. He pleaded guilty to breaching SOCPA.

Douglas Barker

The 72-year-old former RAF pilotfrom Purton, near Swindon, was found guilty of withholding 10 per cent of his income tax in protest at the Iraq war. He had sent a note to the Inland Revenue explaining that he would give the money to charity. But in February magistrates at Chippenham, Wiltshire, dismissed his protest. Bailiffs will take property to cover the £1,215.45 Mr Barker is said to owe.

Geneviève Roberts

    Prisoner of conscience: RAF doctor who refused Iraq service is jailed, I, 14.4.2006, http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article357656.ece

Court martial highlights importance of legality of the war

Published: 14 April 2006
The Independent
By Robert Verkaik, Legal Affairs Correspondent

Few controversies have divided the British people more than the question of the legality of the war with Iraq.

Among those who believe the 2003 conflict to be unlawful are some of the world's leading experts on international law, who maintain that without a second UN resolution the American and British forces lacked the authority to invade Iraq.

Leading the argument for the British Government is Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General. He told the Prime Minister that UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which found Saddam Hussein to have failed to disarm, could be used to justify war without a second resolution being passed, if it could be shown that Iraq was still in direct breach.

But it is now clear that even Lord Goldsmith had his reservations about the Government's position because of worries that 1441 did not explicitly set out the conditions upon which military action could be taken.

Yesterday's court martial in Aldershot is further evidence that the question of whether the invasion was unlawful is not merely of interest to international jurists.

Senior military staff were so concerned about the possibility of war crimes charges that they approached Lord Goldsmith for firmer reassurances of the legal position just weeks before the conflict began.

But it is not just on the battlefield that the question of the legality of the war has become so critical. In the courts lawyers have tried to show that peace protesters committing criminal damage should not be convicted of any crime because they are trying to prevent a greater wrong - an unlawful war.

In the cases of the RAF doctor Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith and SAS soldier Ben Griffin, who have both cited moral grounds for refusing to take part in the fighting, the answer to the question has far-reaching implications.

Yesterday a court martial in Aldershot sentenced Kendall-Smith to eight months in prison after finding him guilty of five charges of failing to obey a lawful order.

During the trial lawyers for Kendall-Smith argued that the war was unlawful and the doctor was entitled to take a moral stand to disobey an order.

His legal team was prepared to produce expert evidence to show that UN resolutions relied upon by the British and American governments to justify the invasion could be challenged.

But the court, like others before them, dodged this argument by holding that the issue over the legality of the law was irrelevant.

The effect of this ruling on soldiers who take a similar stand in the future could be even graver. The Armed Forces Bill - now going through Parliament - will impose harsh penalties, including life imprisonment, on soldiers who refuse to take part in military occupations.

A little-known section introduces a new tougher definition of desertion so that soldiers who intend to avoid serving in a "military occupation of a foreign country or territory" can be imprisoned for life.

    Court martial highlights importance of legality of the war, I, 14.4.2006, http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article357657.ece

SAS frees Kember and Canadian hostages

Friday March 24, 2006
Guardian
Ewen MacAskill and Richard Norton-Taylor

The British hostage, Norman Kember, and his two Canadian colleagues were free last night after a rescue mission led by the SAS into one of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad. The troops found the three tied up but unharmed. No shots were fired. The kidnappers had fled, apparently on hearing troops arrive, according to a British official.

In a statement issued by the British embassy, where he was staying overnight, Mr Kember said: "It's great to be free. I am looking forward to getting back to the UK." He was held for four months by an Islamist group, part of the Sunni Muslim insurgency, who threatened to execute him and his two colleagues unless all Iraqi prisoners were released. A fourth hostage, an American, Tom Fox, was found shot dead in Baghdad two weeks ago.

The breakthrough came when two Iraqis, alleged to be part of the kidnap gang, were caught by coalition forces on Wednesday night; one of them provided the location of the hostages. The coalition forces have been holding several other alleged members of the gang in custody for some time, though the British government has not divulged this until now. Ministers said the release was the result of a month-long intelligence operation.

A British official said the SAS-led operation, which included US and Canadian special forces, had been extremely risky. The British government, normally coy about confirming the presence of special service troops in an operation, yesterday volunteered that the SAS had led the operation.

Mr Kember's wife, Pat said: "It's wonderful news. I was getting pessimistic. I was beginning to feel nothing was happening and I was getting worried. The support I have had from everybody has been so wonderful."

Bruce Kent, who has known Mr Kember for 15 years, told of the family's darkest time in March. "The worst point was after the murder of Tom Fox, it looked like they were going to kill them one by one," Mr Kent said.

    SAS frees Kember and Canadian hostages, G, 24.3.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1738583,00.html

RAF doctor was wrong to refuse to serve in Iraq

March 23, 2006
The Times
By Michael Evans, Defence Editor

THE first military officer to be charged with disobeying an order to serve in Iraq failed in his attempt to have the case against him dismissed yesterday.

Judge Advocate Jack Bayliss rejected the defence submitted by Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith that he had acted according to his conscience in the belief that Britain’s campaign in Iraq was illegal.

The 37-year-old RAF doctor had served twice in Iraq but refused a third time after studying the published advice from Lord Goldsmith, QC, the Attorney-General, which laid down the international legal grounds for the invasion of Iraq.

At the officer’s pre-trial hearing in Aldershot, Judge Advocate Bayliss said that at the time of the order to return to Iraq in June last year, the British Armed Forces were mandated by two United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Dismissing Flight Lieutenant Kendall-Smith’s defence over the legality of the invasion in March 2003, the judge said he did not believe that this issue was relevant since the military action predated the five charges the officer was now facing.

“It is unnecessary for me to decide whether the presence of British troops at an earlier date was lawful or not,” he said.

The officer is charged with disobeying orders to attend training and briefings before deployment to Iraq. “There can have been no possible illegality in complying with the orders to attend for pistol and rifle training, to attend for a helmet fitting and sizing, or to attend an initial response training course,” the judge said. “Those are all activities ancillary to any deployment to an operational theatre.”

In pre-trial hearings last week on the issue of the legality of the war in Iraq, Philip Sapsford, QC, defence counsel, argued that Flight Lieutenant Kendall-Smith had refused to return to Iraq because he did not want to be complicit in a crime of aggression.

However, the judge said: “The law is clear. The crime of aggression, even if it were a crime which the domestic courts of the United Kingdom would take cognisance, cannot be committed by those in relatively junior positions such as that of the defendant.” He added: “If a defendant believed that to go to Basra would make him complicit in the crime of aggression, his understanding of the law was wrong.

“In argument Mr Sapsford said his client regarded himself as a leader, not a foot soldier. If that was the defendant’s belief, it was based on a greatly inflated sense of his own position. He was a non-combatant of relatively junior rank and cannot possibly have been in any way responsible for policy.” The judge said it was also “fanciful” to argue that Flight Lieutenant Kendall-Smith might be ordered to supervise the interrogation of prisoners that could be in breach of the Geneva Convention. If he was concerned that an order might breach the Geneva Convention, he would have been entitled to refuse to obey the specific order in accordance with Article 16 of Protocol 1 of the convention. The judge concluded: “There can have been no illegality in the defendant obeying any of the five orders he was given which form the subject of the charges. All five orders had a specific service purpose and all were therefore lawful orders.”

Flight Lieutenant Kendall-Smith will now face court martial in Aldershot on April 11.

    RAF doctor was wrong to refuse to serve in Iraq, Ts, 23.3.2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2098978,00.html

Soldiers going Awol have trebled since the invasion of Iraq

Published: 19 March 2006
The Independent on Sunday
By Severin Carrell

The number of soldiers absconding from the British Army has trebled since the invasion of Iraq, raising fears that the military is facing a crisis in morale.

The Independent on Sunday can reveal that last year more than 380 soldiers went absent without leave and have since failed to return to duty - marking a dramatic increase since the invasion of Iraq three years ago.

Military lawyers and campaigners said that these figures suggested significant levels of disaffection in the ranks over the legality of the occupation, and growing discontent about the coalition's failure to defeat the Iraqi insurgency.

An RAF doctor was last week taken to a court martial for refusing to serve in Iraq, claiming the occupation is illegal, and a former SAS trooper, Ben Griffin, revealed he had quit the army in protest at the war.

Mr Griffin was among the 20,000 anti-war protesters, including a number of families of serving soldiers, who marched in London yesterday to mark the third anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Opposition MPs were alarmed by the new figures. Bob Russell, the Liberal Democrat MP for the garrison town of Colchester in Essex, is to question ministers about the numbers in the Commons this week.

Mr Russell, a Defence spokesman, said he believed morale in the army was generally high, but added: "That's an increase worthy of detailed investigation as to whether there's an underlying reason for it."

Ministers are planning to tackle the "refusenik" problem by introducing a new definition of desertion in the Armed Forces Bill now going through Parliament. Soldiers could now face life imprisonment if they refuse to take part in the occupation of a foreign country - a move thought to be directly linked to concerns over Iraq.

Figures released by the MoD show that over the past five years the number of soldiers who have gone Awol and failed to rejoin their units has steadily increased, rising from 86 in 2001 to 118 in 2002 and then 135 in 2003, when the Iraq war began.

But over the past two years - as the Iraqi opposition to the occupation has intensified and coalition casualties increased - the numbers leapt to 230 in 2004 and then to 383. Defence officials admit these figures are troubling, because the number of soldiers who go Awol for a short period, but who then return to active duty or get arrested, has remained fairly level at about 2,600 cases a year.

Gilbert Blades, a leading military lawyer, claimed the true extent of absenteeism and the "refusenik" problem was being disguised by the military. "If they played up the problem with absenteeism, that wouldn't be good for morale. So the MoD isn't keen on putting any emphasis on the fact that people don't want to fight in what they think is an illegal war," Mr Blade said.

He said the Government's decision to tighten up the definition of desertion was "pretty obviously" an attempt by ministers to stop people from refusing to serve in Iraq.

Gwyn Gwyntopher, a counsellor with At Ease, a charity that advises soldiers on their rights to leave the army, said this tougher definition of desertion was a "very big jump" in military law. "It's now happening in such sufficient numbers that someone in the MoD wants to legislate specifically for it," she said.

    Soldiers going Awol have trebled since the invasion of Iraq, IoS, 19.3.2006, http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article352181.ece

Families hear of horrifying deaths of Red Caps

· Inquest told bodies were riddled with bullets
· Relief was near at hand but unaware of plight

Thursday March 16, 2006
Guardian
Audrey Gillan


The terrifying last few minutes of six Royal Military Police killed in Iraq were relived by their families yesterday as they were told by two forensic pathologists how the men's bodies had been riddled with dozens of gunshot wounds as they lay on the ground.

Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, 41, Corporal Paul Long, 24, Corporal Simon Miller, 21, Corporal Russell Aston, 24, Lance Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, 23, Lance Corporal Benjamin Hyde, 23 and Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, of 156 Provost Company, were killed by an Iraqi mob when reinforcements were a few hundred yards away, unaware of their predicament. All six men were felled by bullets from high-velocity rifles - probably Kalashnikovs - as they lay on the floor of a police station in the southern Iraqi town of Majar al-Kabir in June 2003.

Some relatives rushed from the coroner's court in Oxford yesterday as they learned how 21-year-old Corporal Miller had been punched around the face, hit in the chest with a rifle butt, shot in the head and the cheek from a distance and shot at point blank range in the chest. He had 24 other injuries, including grazing on his back indicating that he had been dragged across the ground.

The youngest, Cpl Keys, 20, clutched his knees to his abdomen in a foetal or sitting position before being shot in the head at close range, the inquest heard. He was shot 18 times, many times in the legs, and had 31 gunshot-related wounds as well as multiple cuts and bruises all over his body.

His father, Reg, quietly wept as he heard the details and was consoled by Cpl Miller's father, John . Home Office pathologist Nathaniel Cary apologised to the families because they had to hear his evidence in "such a deadpan style" but, he explained, it was of necessity. His colleague, Nicholas Hunt, refused to apologise to the families after they accused him of inappropriate behaviour by using photographs of three of the dead men during a seminar on how to set up temporary mortuaries in disaster zones. The coroner, Nicholas Gardiner, would not allow the families' solicitor, John MacKenzie, to question Dr Hunt over his use of the pictures. However, the brother of one of the dead servicemen later pursued Dr Hunt into the street to demand an apology on behalf of the grieving relatives.

"When do we get an apology? Why have you not approached the families?" asked Tony Hamilton-Jewell, brother of Sergeant Hamilton-Jewell. Dr Hunt replied: "It is regrettable but that is the advice I have been given and I do not want to go against that, as much as I would like to." In the slides displayed, the three fallen red caps' bodies were naked save for strips obscuring their genitals and faces.

Earlier, Dr Hunt told the inquest that Cpl Miller had a black eye and abrasions around his forehead and injuries on his chest "would have been consistent with being hit with the butt of a rifle or something similar".

Dr Cary described how Cpl Aston had 13 gunshot wounds to his torso, head, neck, arms, legs and cheek and that he was shot from different directions. His father, Mike Aston, asked if his son had been killed elsewhere and his body taken to the police station. Dr Cary said he could not answer that question.

Sgt Hamilton-Jewell was "struck by at least 14 bullets, at least nine had passed through the body and produced exit wounds". He was not shot at close range and there was nothing to suggest he had been beaten up or tortured. There were no head injuries. He had 15 other signs of injury, including bruising in the pubic area.

Outside court, Mr Keys said he was still unclear as to how his son died. "Nobody will ever know except the Iraqis who were in the room at the time. I just know that they would have seen them coming and known that they were going die. That's what's so difficult to come to terms with."

The General Medical Council confirmed later that it was "looking into" the families' claims regarding Dr Hunt's use of the pictures of the murdered Red Caps. A spokeswoman told the Press Association: "We can confirm that we have received information about Dr Hunt that we are looking at and currently considering."

The inquest was adjourned and is expected to resume today with pathology evidence into the deaths of Lance Corporal Hyde, and Corporal Paul Graham Long.

    Families hear of horrifying deaths of Red Caps, G, 16.3.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,1731857,00.html

US postwar Iraq strategy a mess, Blair was told

Tuesday March 14, 2006
Guardian
Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editor

Senior British diplomatic and military staff gave Tony Blair explicit warnings three years ago that the US was disastrously mishandling the occupation of Iraq, according to leaked memos.

John Sawers, Mr Blair's envoy in Baghdad in the aftermath of the invasion, sent a series of confidential memos to Downing Street in May and June 2003 cataloguing US failures. With unusual frankness, he described the US postwar administration, led by the retired general Jay Garner, as "an unbelievable mess" and said "Garner and his top team of 60-year-old retired generals" were "well-meaning but out of their depth".

That assessment is reinforced by Major General Albert Whitley, the most senior British officer with the US land forces. Gen Whitley, in another memo later that summer, expressed alarm that the US-British coalition was in danger of losing the peace. "We may have been seduced into something we might be inclined to regret. Is strategic failure a possibility? The answer has to be 'yes'," he concluded.

The memos were obtained by Michael Gordon, author, along with General Bernard Trainor, of Cobra II: the Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, published to coincide with the third anniversary of the invasion.

The British memos identified a series of US failures that contained the seeds of the present insurgency and anarchy.

The mistakes include:

· A lack of interest by the US commander, General Tommy Franks, in the post-invasion phase.

· The presence in the capital of the US Third Infantry Division, which took a heavyhanded approach to security.

· Squandering the initial sympathy of Iraqis.

· Bechtel, the main US civilian contractor, moving too slowly to reconnect basic services, such as electricity and water.

· Failure to deal with health hazards, such as 40% of Baghdad's sewage pouring into the Tigris and rubbish piling up in the streets.

· Sacking of many of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party, even though many of them held relatively junior posts.

Mr Sawers, in a memo titled Iraq: What's Going Wrong, written on May 11, four days after he had arrived in Baghdad, is uncompromising about the US administration in Baghdad. He wrote: "No leadership, no strategy, no coordination, no structure and inaccessible to ordinary Iraqis."

He said the US needed to take action in Baghdad urgently. "The clock is ticking." Both Mr Sawers, who is now political director at the Foreign Office, and Gen Whitley see as one of the biggest errors a decision by Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, and General Tommy Franks, the overall US commander, to cut troops after the invasion.

Mr Sawers advocated sending a British battalion, the 16th Air Assault Brigade, to Baghdad to help fill the gap. Although the US supported the plan, Downing Street rejected it weeks later.

The British diplomat is particularly scathing about the US Third Infantry Division, which he describes as "a big part of the problem" in Baghdad. He accused its troops of being reluctant to leave their heavily armoured vehicles to carry out policing and cites an incident in which British Paras saw them fire three tank rounds into a building in response to harmless rifle fire.

Mr Sawers, who had been British ambassador to Egypt before being sent to Iraq and is at present on a shortlist to be the next ambassador to Washington, sent the memo to Mr Blair's key advisers, including Jonathan Powell, the No 10 chief of staff, and Alastair Campbell, head of the Downing Street press operation at the time.

Mr Sawers, in later memos, welcomed the replacement of Gen Garner with Paul Bremer, a US diplomat. But in a memo written in June 25, Mr Sawyer concluded that, despite Mr Bremer's arrival, the situation was getting worse.

In that memo, Mr Sawers expressed opposition to further troop reductions. "Bremer's main concern is that we must keep in-country sufficient military capability to ensure a security blanket across the country. He has twice said to President Bush that he is concerned that the drawdown of US/UK troops had gone too far, and we cannot afford further reductions," Mr Sawers said.

Throughout his time in Iraq, however, Mr Sawers remained optimistic Mr Bremer would make a difference.

His views in the memo are echoed in a note by Gen Whitley, who says that while Gen Franks took credit for the fall of Baghdad, he showed little interest in the postwar period. "I am quite sure Franks did not want to take ownership of Phase IV," Gen Whitley wrote.

He added that Phase IV "did not work well" because the concentration was on the invasion. "There was a blind faith that Phase IV would work. There was a failure to anticipate the extent of the backlash or mood of Iraqi society."

    US postwar Iraq strategy a mess, Blair was told, G, 14.3.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1730427,00.html

Britain to cut Iraq forces by 10 percent

Posted 3/13/2006 11:32 AM
USA Today

LONDON (AP) — Britain said Monday it will cut its forces in Iraq by 10% — a reduction of about 800 troops — by May because Iraqi security forces are becoming more capable of handling security. Defense Secretary John Reid said Britain's commitment to the Iraqi people "remains total."

"Our commitment to the coalition remains certain," Reid told the House of Commons.

"This is a significant reduction which is based largely on the ability of the Iraqis themselves to participate and defend themselves against terrorism, but there is a long, long way to go," he said.

Reid said the country is not at the stage "where whole provinces could be taken under the responsibility of Iraqi security forces.

"We continue to assess that. When those conditions are met, I will make another announcement to this house," he said.

Britain had 46,000 military personnel in Iraq during combat operations in March and April 2003. That dropped to 18,000 in May 2004, and to 8.500 at the end of 2005.

At the time of the last withdrawal of British troops in October, Reid said there were 190,000 members of Iraqi security forces trained and equipped. Now the total is 235,000, and 5,000 more joined every month, he said.

The Iraqi army has more than 10 operational combat battalions engaged in counterinsurgency operations, Reid said, of which 59 were assessed as being "in the lead" or capable of independent operations.

"British troops, which are focused primarily in the south of the country will continue to have a presences in all four provinces they are responsible for," Reid said.

    Britain to cut Iraq forces by 10 percent, UT, 13.3.2006, http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-03-13-britain-iraq_x.htm

UK troops plan Iraqi pullout by mid-2008: general

Mon Mar 6, 2006 9:25 PM ET
Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain plans to pull out nearly all its soldiers from Iraq by the summer of 2008, with the first withdrawals within weeks, a top military commander said in an interview published on Tuesday.

Lieutenant General Nick Houghton, Britain's most senior officer in Iraq, outlined a phased two-year withdrawal plan in an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"There is a fine line between staying too long and leaving too soon," he was quoted as saying. "A military transition over two years has a reasonable chance of avoiding the pitfalls of overstaying our welcome but gives us the best opportunity of consolidating the Iraqi security forces."

Britain has given no firm timetable for the withdrawal of its 8,000 troops in Iraq, based in and around the southern port of Basra.

Houghton said the timeline would work only if Iraqi politicians elected in the December general election formed a national unity government and sectarian tensions did not worsen.

"It is reversible to an extent as there will be residual coalition forces present who can maintain a very low profile," he said. "There may be a need to go back in somewhere."

He said the proposals had been agreed with U.S. military chiefs, but were not set in stone.

Houghton repeated the long-held position in Washington and London that his forces would only leave once security could be handed over to Iraqi forces.

Last Sunday, the U.S. military in Iraq said media reports that the United States and Britain planned to pull out all their troops by the spring of 2007 were "completely false" and reiterated there was no timetable for withdrawal.

Two British newspapers reported in their Sunday editions that the pullout plan followed an acceptance by the two governments that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq was now a large obstacle to securing peace.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been under pressure to give more details of a pullout. Many Britons opposed the deployment of troops to join the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Relations with Iraqi officials and people have soured. Houghton said a gradual withdrawal needed to begin soon to make it clear to the Iraqi people that British troops had no intention of staying forever.

British commanders have said the area they patrol has become more dangerous over the past eight to nine months as guerrillas develop deadlier forms of roadside bombs.

Last month, two British soldiers were killed in an attack on a patrol in Amara, 360 km (230 miles) southeast of Baghdad. It took the British death toll in Iraq to more than 100.

A Ministry of Defense spokesman in London said it was aware of Houghton's interview, but stressed no timetable had been finalised.

"The general was commenting on recent speculation on the timing of handover," he said. "The key point is that no decisions on timing or future force levels have been taken."

    UK troops plan Iraqi pullout by mid-2008: general, R, 7.3.2006, http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyid=2006-03-07T022542Z_01_L23677461_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-BRITAIN-TROOPS.xml

Midday

'14,000 detained without trial in Iraq'

Monday March 6, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Mike McDonough

US and UK forces in Iraq have detained thousands of people without charge or trial for long periods and there is growing evidence of Iraqi security forces torturing detainees, Amnesty International said today.

In a new report published today, the human rights group criticised the US-led multinational force for interning some 14,000 people.

Around 3,800 people have been held for over a year, while another 200 have been detained for more than two years, the report - Beyond Abu Ghraib: detention and torture in Iraq - said.

"It is a dangerous precedent for the world that the US and UK think it completely defensible to hold thousands of people without charge or trial," Amnesty spokesman Neil Durkin said.

The detainee situation in Iraq was comparable to Guantánamo Bay, he added, but on a much larger scale, and the detentions appeared to be "arbitrary and indefinite".

"It sends a very worrying message to the people of Iraq that the multinational force does not think normal human rights standards apply," he said.

Amnesty said there was no fresh evidence of US-led troops abusing detainees in ways similar to Abu Ghraib prison, but it warned that the US practice of denying detainees access to lawyers or visits by relatives for their first 60 days in custody left the door open to mistreatment.

"The worry is that people will suffer abuse during that period and it is less likely to be checked if there is no form of external oversight," Mr Durkin said.

The Amnesty report also claimed Iraqi security forces were systematically violating the rights of detainees.

Many cases of torture, including electric shocks or beatings with plastic cables, have been reported since US-led forces handed power to Iraqi officials in June 2004, the document said.

Several detainees reportedly died in Iraqi custody last year, and some of their bodies bore injuries consistent with torture, Amnesty said.

The report expressed particular concern about the activities of the Wolf brigade, a unit that reports to the Iraqi interior ministry.

Mr Durkin insisted it was feasible for the Iraqi authorities to implement international human rights standards despite the country's extremely volatile security situation.

"We do not see what is unreasonable about abiding by human rights standards in attempts to police Iraq," he said. "And you are not going to fuel resentment to the same degree as if you imprison people without charge, that is a recipe for disaster."

Amnesty acknowledged that armed groups opposed to the US-led force were responsible for many of the abuses being committed in Iraq, including attacks targeting civilians.

But the group said it had addressed that issue in earlier reports, and that it was not the focus of its latest publication.

The vast majority of the 14,000 people held in Iraq are in US custody.

British troops are holding 43 detainees at a facility in Shaiba, southern Iraq, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said. Their detention is subject to regular review by an internment panel, but lawyers can only make written submissions.

Amnesty said it was concerned the lawyers do not have access to any substantive evidence against their clients.

One man, Hillal "Abdul Razzaq" Ali al-Jedda, has been in British custody since his arrest in October 2004. The 48-year-old dual Iraqi and UK national has not been charged with any offence, and a court of appeal judgment on his detention is awaited following a hearing in January.

The Foreign Office said the UK followed UN guidelines for detaining suspects.

"We believe that the detention is legal and fair and subject to review," a spokesman said.

    '14,000 detained without trial in Iraq', G, 6.3.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1724837,00.html

Comment

Mr Blair, you sent my son to die in a war based on lies

Occupation has achieved nothing positive. It is time to bring our troops home and let the Iraqi people decide their own future

Thursday March 2, 2006
Guardian
Pauline Hickey

Dear Prime Minister,

Ref: Sgt Christian Ian Hickey of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, who became 97th fatality of the Iraq conflict

As a parent yourself, you will be aware that the most precious thing we have in our lives is our children. Until four months ago, I had been blessed with two grown-up sons. I still cannot get used to speaking about one of my sons in the past tense. My youngest son Christian, 30, was a member of the armed forces; he was an exceptional character, full of fun, with great sense of humour and was a generous, caring person who brought the best in people. He was an excellent soldier, who had progressed rapidly through the ranks, and became full sergeant at the age of 29. I enclose summary from the Coldstreams' website (Shinycapstar.com) to show I am not biased as his mother.

Since the death of my son on October 2005, three days before his tour was to end, I have started to question why the invasion of Iraq occurred. My son's remit in Iraq was as a "peacekeeper", helping with the rebuilding of schools and the infrastructure, and training the Iraqi police to enable them to maintain stability in the future. At the time of his death, Chris was the platoon commander and was responsible for clearing a safe route for a large convoy.

The Iraqi police have been implicated in the death of my son, from a roadside bomb. There will be no further investigation as they were spoken to, photographed and searched, then allowed to go as an Iraqi police service lieutenant colonel arrived and confirmed their identities. It makes nonsense of our involvement with them, as their own chief of police says that he can only trust 25% of his own men. This suggests that the remainder is made up of insurgents who would think nothing of killing coalition troops.

My son was on foot patrol when the bomb exploded. This was to minimise casualties should they come in contact with an improvised explosive device. The only vehicles available to them were fibreglass Jeeps; there were no armoured Land Rovers. The British government had sent a consignment of armoured Land Rovers for the Iraqi police prior to my son's death. His commanding officer spoke out about this following my son's death, as he had requested the essential Land Rovers but was turned down on the basis that they were not suitable for the roads. Would the Iraqi police not have been using the same roads as the troops? I understand that your wife, Cherie Blair, has a government bulletproof vehicle. I would question who is at most risk: British troops in a war zone or your wife driving around London?

Does the British government not have a duty of care to the troops in Iraq? My son had to purchase his own boots before going out to Iraq as the standard army-issued boots were unsuitable and melted in the intense heat. The British troops were known to the American troops as "the borrowers" due to their lack of equipment and short supplies. When the death of the 100th soldier was announced on television, I was appalled to hear that instruction had come from you not to hype up the significance of the number. If this is correct, you have little humanity and do not deserve an army who are not able to question the politics and decisions made, but have to go where they are told. I was interested to hear about Maya Anne Evans, who was arrested for peacefully reading out the names of the dead soldiers, including my son, at the Cenotaph. She was arrested by 14 police officers, received a criminal record, and was fined £100.

A Ministry of Defence poll found that up to 65% of Iraqi citizens supported attacks on British troops, less than 1% thought allied military involvement was helping their situation, and 82% were strongly opposed to the presence of coalition troops in their country. For nearly two years, the British public has been inundated with US and British "exit strategies". You should not need such a strategy when the above statistics speak for themselves, and the Iraqi people want us out.

It is time to bring the troops home and let the people of Iraq decide their own future. The west cannot enforce a democratic government upon them. The occupation of Iraq has not achieved anything positive; the people are in a worse situation now than under Saddam Hussein. We have lost 103 dedicated soldiers. They died in a war based on lies, for nothing, and it has robbed them of a future.

Going to war is one of the most important decisions this country could have taken. It has resulted in many deaths, and has far-reaching implications for the country's future in the international community. From the information I have collated, the legality of the invasion is questionable - and questions must be asked and answers given. I feel it is important that, as the prime minister and the person who made the ultimate decision to invade Iraq, sending some of our troops to their death, you should have a moral duty to answer the soldiers' families' questions.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet you for such discussion. I personally find all forms of violence and aggression abhorrent. Conflict is rarely resolved though wars of aggression - negotiation is a much better tool to try to resolve issues. I am employed as a child protection social worker, and would be held accountable if a child was injured or died because I failed do my job adequately. There would be an inquiry. I accept this as part of my employment. However, if what I am reading about your involvement and the accusations in Philippe Sands' book are correct - and I note you are not in the process suing him - surely you too should be accountable for your actions, and there should be redress in the form of an inquiry at the very least.

As far as I am aware, neither you nor any government representative has attended any of the soldiers' funerals or visited the many injured. (This was recently reported as 230, while in January 2005 the figure stood at 790. I am sure who does the figures, but perhaps they should be redeployed.) The true cost of this war in terms of wasted lives of both Iraqis and of coalition troops, and the true, undisclosed financial cost, far outweigh any gains. We cannot police the whole world because they do not agree with us or will not cooperate with us. I await your response with interest.

· This is an edited version of a letter delivered by Pauline Hickey to 10 Downing Street yesterday contact@mfaw.org.uk 

    Mr Blair, you sent my son to die in a war based on lies, G, 2.3.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1721352,00.html

5pm

New 'Abu Ghraib abuse' images screened

Wednesday February 15, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
Mark Oliver and agencies

Previously unpublished images showing US troops apparently abusing detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 were broadcast today by an Australian television station.

Still and video images were broadcast on Dateline, a current affairs programme on SBS television, which appeared to show dead bodies and Iraqi prisoners being tortured by US troops.

In one piece of footage, an Iraqi detainee was seen slamming his head repeatedly into a metal door, with guards apparently unwilling to intervene and stop him.

A still image showed a naked detainee with 11 non-fatal gunshot wounds to his buttocks.

SBS said it had obtained a file of hundreds of images and that many of them depicted dead bodies, bloody injuries and acts of sexual humiliation that were too graphic to be aired.

In some of the film shown, naked male prisoners wearing hoods were seen being forced to masturbate in front of the camera.

The original photographs of abuse at Abu Ghraib caused worldwide outrage when they were leaked to US current affairs programme 60 Minutes in 2004. SBS said the new images were taken in late 2003 at around the same time as the previously publicised photographs, which included a series showing naked detainees arranged in "pyramids".

A number of the new images showed US soldiers who have already been convicted in military trials over the abuse scandal at the prison, including Private Lynndie England and Charles Graner.

It had been known that more images of the abuse at Abu Ghraib existed.

At a Senate committee inquiry in May 2004, the US secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, said that not all known photographs of the abuses at Abu Ghraib had been publicly released. Mr Rumsfeld told the inquiry: "Beyond abuse of prisoners, there are other photos that depict incidents of physical violence toward prisoners, acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman."

Dateline's production team interviewed US Congress members who had been given a private viewing of all the images depicting abuse from Abu Ghraib, including those that had not been published in the media.

SBS refused to give details of the source of the photographs, but insisted it was confident of their credibility. It was impossible to independently confirm the images' authenticity.

Producers said the new images were among photographs the American Civil Liberties Union was trying to obtain from the US government under a freedom of information request.

In September last year, a US district court upheld the request in a ruling covering scores of photographs and several videotapes. Government lawyers responded by saying an appeal was being considered, and the images were not immediately released.

Speaking on Dateline's programme today, Amrit Singh, a lawyer for the the civil liberties union said she hoped the broadcast of the new images would provide pressure for high-ranking officials to be held accountable for "systematic and widespread abuse".

In total, seven low-ranking US personnel have been disciplined over the images. Graner, a reservist, received the highest sentence and was jailed for 10 years.

There were reports Washington was trying to prevent the new images being broadcast in the US.

The photographs were quickly picked up by Arabic television stations. It was feared they could add to tensions stirred up by the Danish cartoon row and Sunday's emergence of video showing British troops in Iraq apparently beating civilians in 2004.

British military police were today continuing to interview three British soldiers over a videotape obtained by the News of the World showing young Iraqis apparently being attacked in Amara, a town north of Basra, in January 2004.

The Royal Military Police arrested one person on Sunday night, and it detained two others yesterday as the investigation made "significant progress".

The first soldier arrested was named by the BBC as Corporal Martin Webster of the 1st Battalion, Light Infantry, although it was not clear whether he was being interviewed as a witness or a perpetrator.

    New 'Abu Ghraib abuse' images screened, G, 15.2.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1710360,00.html

Army's image in Iraq under the spotlight

· Video apparently shows civilians beaten by troops
· Concern at damage caused by string of allegations

Monday February 13, 2006
The Guardian
Richard Norton-Taylor, Michael Howard in Sulaymaniya and Sam Jones

The first British troops to arrive in southern Iraq in March 2003 may not have been sure what kind of reception awaited them, but they were left in no doubt as to how to treat the city's residents. "When you go in and sort out an urban area, you are not out to break the china," said Air Marshal Brian Burridge, the head of British forces.

Britain's softly softly approach towards patrolling Iraq's second-largest city seemed to set them apart from the more muscular, distant US approach. They swapped their helmets for soft berets to show locals that they were not simply an invading army. There were impromptu games of football between local youngsters and soldiers in T-shirts.

Much was made of the British soldiers' experience. Many had served in Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, and were more used to urban patrols than their US counterparts. But questions about the conduct of British soldiers - and their success in winning hearts and minds - will inevitably be asked following the potentially damaging and hugely embarrassing video which emerged in the News of the World yesterday.

Even so, violence flared in the Basra region in March 2004 when riots erupted over job shortages. Fourteen British soldiers were injured when hundreds of Iraqis threw stones and petrol bombs during the protests. In a standard tactic adopted in Northern Ireland and now used by Britain's 8,500-strong force in Iraq, snatch squads were sent out to arrest the ringleaders.

The video apparently shows British troops dragging four young protesters off a street and into an army compound after one such clash. They are then seen being viciously beaten by the soldiers. The MoD would not confirm the regiment involved, but 20 Armoured Brigade, based in Paderborn in Germany and which included the 1st Battalion the Light Infantry, was deployed in Basra at the time.

In the video, which the paper said was played at the troops' base in Europe before being handed over by a whistleblower, the cameraman is heard laughing and saying: "Oh yes! Oh yes! You're gonna get it. Yes, naughty little boys. You little fuckers, you little fuckers. Die. Ha Ha." Soldiers are shown beating the Iraqis, with one apparently kicking a young man in the genitals as he lay on the ground. A young Iraqi is apparently head-butted by a helmeted soldier and hit in the kidneys. The Iraqi cries: "No, please," as the commentator says in a mocking, childlike, voice: "No, please, don't hurt me." The video also apparently shows an Iraqi corpse being kicked, and, as the man's head is held up to the camera, a soldier sniggers: "He's been a bad motherfucker."

A military spokesman in Basra, Flight Lieutenant Chris Thomas, yesterday reacted to the release of the tape by condemning "all acts of abuse and brutality" by British troops. "We hope that the good relations that the multinational forces have worked very hard to develop won't be adversely affected by this material." He added that the allegations related "to only a tiny number of the 80,000 personnel that have served in Iraq".

A spokesman for Nadim al-Jaberi, the head of the al-Fadhila party, which has a strong presence in Basra, said last night they were "shocked but not surprised" by news of the video. He added: "Many of our supporters have reported ill treatment at the hands of some of the British forces. I don't think they would behave that way in Britain. Why do we deserve it?"

The latest allegations are a further blow to an army deeply concerned over a reputation dented by cases involving the alleged abuse of Iraqis by soldiers. The Guardian reported in December that, in a briefing to senior army officers, Major General Bill Rollo, a former commanding officer in southern Iraq, warned of the damage being done to the service's reputation in an era of unprecedented media and judicial scrutiny. British officers are increasingly concerned at the tasks - a combination of peacekeeping, policing, nation-building, and training Iraqi security forces - they are being asked to carry out in Iraq. Their difficulties are compounded by the infiltration of the Iraqi police and security forces by Shia militia.

Operational demands on the army have led to cutting corners in training and exercises, military sources say. When asked about the video, Charles Heyman, a former army officer and author of the standard handbook on the British army, said: "You can't send soldiers [to Iraq] without this happening on a regular basis, because they are not policemen." Last year General Sir Mike Jackson, head of the army, launched an inquiry into whether pre-deployment training was adequate. Abuse allegations had damaged the army, he said, but a cover-up would be worse.

Allegations of abuse

· In May 2004 the Daily Mirror published photos that appeared to show a soldier urinating on an Iraqi detainee and hitting him with a rifle. A military investigation found that the abuse had been faked. The newspaper apologised and sacked Mirror editor Piers Morgan.

· Four soldiers were found guilty at a court martial 12 months ago of abusing Iraqi detainees in Basra after a shop assistant saw newly processed pictures. One soldier took trophy photographs showing an Iraqi hanging from a forklift truck, being stood on, and posing in sexual positions.

· A court martial of seven paratroopers accused of murdering an Iraqi teenager collapsed in November after the judge said basic policing errors had been made by military investigators and described some Iraqi witnesses as seekers of "blood money".

· Trooper Kevin Williams of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment was found not guilty last April of murdering a lawyer near Basra in 2003. Charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service following evidence submitted by senior army sources and comments from the trial judge, who remarked on the dangers that British troops faced in Iraq.

· A high court judge will preside over a court martial due to start in September of seven soldiers charged in connection with the death in custody of a hotel receptionist who was detained in Basra in September 2003.

    Army's image in Iraq under the spotlight, G, 13.2.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1708551,00.html

Blair refuses to be swayed by death of 100th British soldier

· Families of dead troops react angrily to milestone
· PM: for sake of democracy we must see this through

Wednesday February 1, 2006
Guardian
Richard Norton-Taylor

The government insisted last night that the death of the 100th British soldier in Iraq would not speed up the withdrawal of troops from the country, despite renewed calls to bring them home.
With families of dead soldiers expressing anger at Britain's continuing presence in Iraq, Tony Blair made it clear that yesterday's killing would in no way deflect the government from its mission there.

The 100th fatality was named as Corporal Gordon Pritchard, 31, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, who was killed in the southern port of Um Qasr. He was married with three children, and came from Prestonpans near Edinburgh.

While the unwanted milestone reignited opposition to Britain's military involvement in Iraq, Mr Blair said the country had to understand why it mattered that "we see this through". It was important, he told the BBC, "because what is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq is that the people of those countries want to leave behind terrorism and extremism, and they want to embrace democracy".

Asked earlier whether the government was worried by the 100th death of a British soldier in Iraq, Mr Blair's spokesman replied: "I do not think we should do the terrorists' job for them by in some way hyping this kind of incident".

The soldier died from an explosion striking the lead Landrover of a three-vehicle convoy carrying out what the Ministry of Defence described as a "routine rations and water run". Three other soldiers were injured, one seriously.

Cpl Pritchard's parents, Jenny and Bill, said in statement last night that he was the epitome of a modern, professional soldier. "He was a well-trained, well-motivated soldier serving in a regiment that he was extremely proud of, as did his father and elder brother."

The death came 24 hours after another that of another soldier - named yesterday as Corporal Allan Douglas, 22, from Aberdeen, also from the 7th Armoured Brigade, serving with the 1st Battalion The Highlanders. He was shot dead while on patrol in Maysan province, south-eastern Iraq. His father, Walter, said that his son had not sought to go to Iraq. "Allan was against the war," he said. "He couldn't see the point of it - but he thought it was his duty to be there and he had no choice."

John Reid, the defence secretary, said that it was an "appropriate time" to consider the courage and sacrifice of Britain's armed forces and the contribution they had made "for people in Iraq and places like Afghanistan". Last week, he announced the deployment of an extra 5,000 troops in Afghanistan this summer - a time when ministers had hoped to cut the number of British troops in Iraq, now totalling about 8,500, by more than half.

    Blair refuses to be swayed by death of 100th British soldier, G, 1.2.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1699359,00.html

100th British Service Member Dies in Iraq

January 31, 2006
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:34 a.m. ET
The New York Times

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A British soldier was killed in a roadside bombing Tuesday, the second member of the country's armed forces to die in Iraq in as many days and the 100th fatality since the conflict began nearly three years ago, officials said.

Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and six wounded in a gunbattle Tuesday in Buhriz, a tense Sunni Arab town 30 miles northeast of Baghdad. Police also said a roadside bomb struck a U.S. patrol in Samarra, but there was no word on casualties.

Authorities said, meanwhile, there was no word on kidnapped U.S. journalist Jill Carroll, who appeared weeping and veiled in a new videotape aired by Al-Jazeera.

In Tokyo, Japan's Kyodo News agency said Japan will begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq in March and complete the pullout by May, ending its largest military mission since the end of World War II.

The roadside bomb exploded early Tuesday south of Basra, killing one British soldier and wounding three from the 7th Armoured Brigade, British and Iraqi officials said. Another British soldier was fatally wounded Monday in Maysan province.

Their deaths brought to 100 the number of British soldiers killed since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq -- far fewer than the 2,241 American deaths. The 8,000-strong British contingent is based in the Shiite south, which is less violent than the Sunni Arab areas to the north where most of the 136,000 U.S. troops operate.

In the video broadcast on Al-Jazeera Monday, Carroll was crying and wore a conservative Islamic veil as she spoke to the camera, sitting in front of a yellow and black tapestry. The Al-Jazeera newscaster said she appealed for U.S. and Iraqi authorities to free all women prisoners to help ''in winning her release.''

The video was dated Saturday -- two days after the U.S. military released five Iraqi women from custody. The U.S. military was believed be holding about six more. It was unclear how many women were held by Iraqi authorities.

At one point, Carroll's cracking voice can be heard from behind the news reader's voice. All that can be heard is Carroll saying ''... hope for the families ...''

Carroll, 28, a freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, was seized Jan. 7 by the previously unknown Revenge Brigades, which threatened to kill her unless all women prisoners were released. Al-Jazeera did not report any deadline or threat to kill her Monday.

Japan, which extended its noncombat mission to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah for another year in December, will pull its 600 troops out at about the same time that British and Australian forces leave the area, the Kyodo News agency said.

The report said officials from Australia, Britain, Japan and the United States reached an agreement over the timing of the withdrawals at a secret meeting in London last Monday. A Japanese Defense Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing government policy, said no official decisions had been made regarding Japan's Iraq mission.

Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, said he believed U.S. troop strength would fall below 100,000 by the end of this year and that most U.S. and foreign forces would leave Iraq sometime next year. Al-Rubaie is head of a joint U.S.-Iraqi committee planning for the transfer of military installations to the Iraqis.

The Pentagon has trimmed troop strength from a high of 160,000 to about 136,000 following last month's election. The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, said last month that he hoped to recommend further reductions as early as spring -- assuming progress such as formation of an Iraqi government.

Talks are under way among Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political parties on a new government to include more Sunni Arabs, the community that forms the backbone of the insurgency. However, tensions are rising over Sunni complaints of raids and arrests during counterinsurgency operations by Shiite-led government security forces.

In Baghdad, police found the bodies of 11 handcuffed, blindfolded men inside a truck Tuesday near the Ghazaliyah district of western Baghdad. Their identities were unknown but it appeared the men may have been the victims of sectarian death squads.

Three other bodies were found Tuesday in Baghdad's Rustamiyah area, a favored dumping ground for victims of sectarian reprisal killings, police said.

Shiite-led paramilitary troops backed by U.S. forces launched raids Tuesday in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, searching for suspected insurgents, police said. Police said two Iraqis were shot and killed when they violated orders for residents to stay in their homes.

Late Monday, gunmen killed the wife and two sons of a Sunni Arab cleric north of Baghdad in what authorities said appeared to be part of a campaign of reprisal killings by Sunni and Shiite extremists.

The wife and sons of cleric Qassim Daham al-Hamdani, 44, were killed in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, provincial police said. The cleric was not at the house at the time of the attack.

Elsewhere, officials began culling thousands of birds in northern Iraq and warning farmers elsewhere to inspect their flocks following the announcement that a 15-year-old girl who died Jan. 17 had contracted the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. It was the first confirmed human case of H5N1 in the country.

A spokesman for the World Health Organization, Dick Thompson, said health authorities are also investigating two more possible bird flu cases -- the girl's uncle who died Jan. 27 and a 54-year-old woman from the same region who has been hospitalized.

    100th British Service Member Dies in Iraq, NYT, 31.1.2006, http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Iraq death toll

Tuesday January 31, 2006
Press Association
Guardian Unlimited

The death of two soldiers in two days in Iraq takes the number of British service personnel who have died since the start of hostilities to 100.

Of those, 77 have been killed in action. The rest died in accidents or of natural causes, illness, remain unexplained, or are still under investigation.

A further casualty, Acting Chief Petty Officer Simon Roger Owen, 38, died of natural causes aboard HMS Chatham on December 17 last year while on patrol in the Gulf. HMS Chatham was not assigned to Operation Telic - the name given to the British operation in Iraq.

Here is the full list:

2003

March 21

Eight British servicemen died when the US Sea Knight helicopter they were aboard crashed south of the Kuwait border, just after midnight.

They included five Royal Marines, plus two soldiers and a naval rating serving with the 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery battery in Poole, Dorset.

-Captain Philip Guy, 29, from Bishopdale, North Yorkshire. Married with two children.

-Naval Rating Ian Seymour, an operator mechanic (communications) second class, of Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset. Married with one son.

-Warrant Officer Second Class Mark Stratford, Royal Marines.

-Marine Sholto "Sonic" Hedenskog, 25, from South Africa.

-Lance Bombardier Llywelyn "Welly" Evans, 24, of Llandudno, north Wales. Engaged to be married.

-Colour Sgt John Cecil, 36, of Plymouth, Devon. Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne. Married with one daughter and two stepchildren.

-Major Jason Ward, 34, from the Plymouth area.

-Sergeant Les Hehir, 34, of Poole, Dorset. Married with two sons.

March 22

Six British servicemen died when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over the northern Arabian Gulf at around 1.30am.

-Lt Philip Green, 31.

-Lt Tony King, 35, of Helston, Cornwall. Married with two children.

-Lt James Williams, 28, from Falmouth, Cornwall - originally from Winchester. He was engaged to be married.

-Lt Philip West, 32, of Budock Water, near Falmouth, Cornwall. He was due to be married.

-Lt Marc Lawrence, in his mid-20s, from Westgate, Kent. Engaged to be married.

-Lt Andrew Wilson, 36. Married to Sarah.

All were based at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, near Helston, Cornwall.

March 23

An RAF GR4 Tornado aircraft from RAF Marham, Norfolk, which was returning from an operational mission, was engaged near the Kuwaiti border by a Patriot missile battery. -Flight Lt Kevin Main, a pilot.

-Flight Lt Dave Williams, a navigator. Both were of 9 Squadron.

Also on the same day two British soldiers were killed in an attack on British military vehicles in southern Iraq.

-Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, of north London. Girlfriend was Katy.

-Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 36, from Essex. Married with two sons.

Both were members of 33 (EOD) Engineer Regiment, a specialist bomb disposal unit of the Royal Engineers, based at Carver Barracks, Wimbish, Essex.

March 24

-Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, was killed in action near Al Zubayr near Basra.

The soldier of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment was shot trying to calm a civil disturbance. He was from Bradford, West Yorkshire, married, and had a child from a previous marriage. He was raised in Cornwall.

-Lance Corporal Barry "Baz" Stephen, of the 1st Battalion.

The Black Watch was killed in action near Al Zubayr. Married, 31, from Perth.

March 25 Two British soldiers were killed in a "friendly fire" incident west of Basra. They were part of a four-man crew of a Challenger 2 Main Battle tank and mistakenly fired upon by comrades in another tank.

-Corporal Stephen John Allbutt, 35, from Stoke-on-Trent. Married with two children.

-Trooper David Jeffrey Clarke, 19, from Littleworth, Staffordshire. Was planning to get engaged to girlfriend Rachel.

March 28

A US A-10 tankbuster aircraft is reported to have fired on two armoured vehicles containing soldiers from the Household Cavalry Regiment, part of 16 Air Assault Brigade.

-Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, 25, of The Blues & Royals, Household Cavalry Regiment, from Windsor, was killed in the apparent "friendly fire" incident. He was married to Susan.

March 30 -Royal Marine Christopher Maddison, 24, was killed when a river launch was ambushed on the Al Faw peninsula south of Basra. Marine Maddison was a member of Plymouth-based 9 Assault Squadron.

-Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, 28, with the 212 Signals Squadron, was killed in a crash in Kuwait. His family live in West Yorkshire and he had one son.

-Major Stephen Alexis Ballard, of 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, died of natural causes. Married to Lucy and expecting first child.

March 31

-Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, 32, with the Army School of Ammunition, Royal Logistic Corps, based at Kineton, Warwickshire, died during an operation to dismantle munitions in southern Iraq. The married father-of-one was from Romsey, Hampshire.

April 1

Several members of the Household Cavalry Regiment were hurt when their light armoured vehicle slid down a crumbling bank and overturned.

-Lance Corporal Karl Shearer was killed in the accident. He was travelling in a Scimitar armed reconnaissance vehicle which was on its way to relieve another troop when the accident happened. He was married with one daughter.

April 6

Three soldiers were killed as allied troops swept into Basra.

-Kelan John Turrington, 18, from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

-Lance Corporal Ian Malone, of Dublin, 28, a member of the 1st Battalion the Irish Guards.

-Piper Christopher Muzvuru, 21, of the 1st Battalion the Irish Guards. He was born in Zimbabwe.

April 22

-Lt Alexander Tweedie, 25, was hurt in the accident which killed Lance Corporal Karl Shearer when their vehicle overturned on April 1 in southern Iraq.

-Lt Tweedie was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment on April 3 but died from his injuries on April 22. He was serving with the D Squadron of The Blues and Royals Household Cavalry Regiment. He was single and originally from Hawick in the Scottish Borders.

April 30

-Lance Corporal James McCue, 27, was killed in an explosion in southern Iraq. He was serving with the 7 Air Assault Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). He was single and from Paisley in Renfrewshire.

May 6

-Private Andrew Kelly, 18, was killed in an accident in Iraq. He was serving with the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. He was single and from Tavistock, Devon.

May 8

-Gunner Duncan Pritchard, 22, died in hospital in the UK after being injured in a traffic accident in Iraq. He was an RAF Regiment Gunner serving with 16 Squadron, based at RAF Honington, Suffolk.

May 19 -Corporal David Shepherd, 34, died from natural causes. He was serving with the Royal Air Force Police in Kuwait.

May 22

-Leonard Harvey, 55, a civilian member of the Defence Fire Service, died in hospital in the UK. He was taken ill while deployed in the Gulf. Divorced with three daughters, he had served with the Defence Fire Service for 33 years, normally based at Wattisham, Suffolk.

June 24 Six Royal Military Policemen were killed by an Iraqi mob at a police station at Al Majar Al Kabir.

-Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell, 41, serving with 156 Provost Company. The Platoon Sergeant of the Parachute Provost Platoon, known as "HJ" he came from Chessington, Surrey, and was single.

-Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, was married with one daughter. He was the company physical training instructor.

-Corporal Paul Graham Long, 24, from Colchester. Cpl Long was serving on his first operational deployment. Married to Gemma and had a 11-month-old son, Benjamin.

-Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington, Tyne & Wear. Cpl Miller was engaged to be married. He had previously served in the Parachute Regiment.

-Lance-Corporal Benjamin John McGowan Hyde, 23, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire. L/Cpl McGowan Hyde was single and was on his first operational tour.

-Lance-Corporal Thomas Richard Keys, 20, from Llanuwchllyn, near Bala in Wales. L/Cpl Keys was single and had previously served with The Parachute Regiment.

July18

-Captain James Linton, 43, died while serving in southern Iraq with the 40 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. He collapsed and died following a training run at a British base in Al Zubayr. He was married with three children.

August 13

-Private Jason Smith, 32, a Territorial Army soldier, died while serving in southern Iraq. Death was not the result of enemy action. He was serving with 52nd Lowland Regiment attached to the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers. From Hawick in the Scottish borders, he was unmarried but had a long-term partner.

August 14

-Captain David Jones, 29, was killed in a bomb attack on a military ambulance in Basra, southern Iraq. He came from Louth, Lincolnshire, and had been married just over a year. A Sandhurst graduate, he had been working on civil-military co-operation projects in Basra to reconstruct the city.

August 23

Three soldiers from the Royal Military Police were killed after an ambush on a military vehicle by gunmen in Basra.

-Major Matthew Titchener, 32, of 150 Provost Company. He was married with one child.

-Warrant Officer Colin Wall, 34, of 150 Provost Company. He was married with one child, plus two from a previous marriage.

-Corporal Dewi Pritchard, 35, a Territorial Army soldier serving with 116 Provost Company. He was married and came from Bridgend.

August 27

-Fusilier Russell Beeston, 26, was killed after an army convoy was confronted by two mobs of Iraqi civilians and a firefight began at Ali As Sharqi.

-Fusilier Beeston, 26, was a Territorial Army soldier in 52nd Lowland Regiment (Volunteers), serving attached to the 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers in Iraq. He was married and came from Govan in Glasgow.

September 23

A Territorial Army soldier died in an incident involving a firearm while serving at Shaibah near Basra.

-Sergeant John Nightingale, of 217 Transport Squadron, part of 150 Regiment (Volunteers) of the Royal Logistic Corps. Engaged to Lucy and aged 32, he came from Leeds and worked in the electronics industry.

October 31

A Royal Marines NCO was killed by hostile fire during an operation in Iraq.

-Corporal Ian Plank, Royal Marines. Aged 31 and came from Poole.

November 6

A British serviceman was killed in a road traffic accident in Basra.

-Private Ryan Thomas, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Wales. Aged 18, from Resolven, near Neath.

2004

January 1

Two British soldiers were killed in a road traffic accident in Baghdad in the early hours.

-Major James Stenner, Welsh Guards. Married, 30, from Monmouthshire.

-Sergeant Norman Patterson, Cheshire Regiment. Single, 28, from Staffordshire.

January 7

A British serviceman died following an incident on a training range near Basra.

-Lance Corporal Andrew James Craw, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. Single, 21, from Clackmannanshire.

January 21

A soldier was killed in a road accident at Al Amarah.

-Rifleman Vincent Calvin Windsor, 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets. Aged 23, he came from Oxfordshire and had a German fiancee.

January 31

A soldier died in an accident in Basra.

-Sapper Robert Thomson, Royal Engineers. Unmarried, 22, from West Lothian.

February 12

A soldier died in a vehicle accident at Shaibah Logistics Base in southern Iraq.

-Corporal Richard Thomas David Ivell, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. Married with three children, 29, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

June 28 A soldier was killed, and two injured, in an improvised explosive device attack on British vehicles in Basra.

-Fusilier Gordon Gentle, from Glasgow, of Royal Highland Fusiliers.

July 19

An airman was killed when an RAF Puma helicopter was involved in an accident at Basra airport.

-Flight Lieutenant Kristian Gover, 33 Squadron RAF.

August 4 A soldier died in an accident at Al Amarah.

-Private Christopher Gordon Rayment, 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment, aged 22.

August 9 A soldier was killed and several others injured in an attack on British vehicles in Basra.

-Private Lee O'Callaghan, Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment. He was 20 and from south London.

August 12

A soldier was killed and another seriously injured by an improvised explosive device attack at Basra.

-Private Marc Ferns, The Black Watch. He was 21 and from Glenrothes in Fife.

August 17 A soldier was killed in an exchange of fire with insurgents in Basra.

-Lance Corporal Paul Thomas, The Light Infantry. Aged 29, he was single and from Welshpool.

September 10

A soldier died in an traffic accident near Al Amarah.

-Fusilier Stephen Jones, The Royal Welch Fusiliers. He was 22, married, and from Denbigh.

September 28 Two soldiers died after the ambush of a military convoy south west of Basra.

-Corporal Marc Taylor, served with the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, attached to 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. He was 27, married with a daughter and from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

-Gunner David Lawrence, 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, he was aged 25 and came from Walsall, West Midlands.

October 29

A Black Watch soldier was killed following a vehicle accident in the North Babil Province in Iraq. The incident did not involve hostile action.

-Private Kevin Thomas McHale, 1st Battalion The Black Watch, aged 27, was single and came from Lochgelly, Fife.

October 31

-Staff Sergeant Denise Rose, of the Royal Military Police's Special Investigation Branch, was found dead at a military camp in Basra - the first British female soldier to die in Iraq since the campaign to remove Saddam Hussein began.

The 34-year-old from Liverpool was discovered dead from a gunshot wound at the Army base in the Shatt-al-Arab Hotel. The MoD said the incident is not thought to have been the result of hostile action.

November 4

Three soldiers of the Black Watch killed in a suicide attack in Iraq.

-Private Paul Lowe, 19, Sergeant Stuart Gray, 31, and Private Scott McArdle, 22, all from Fife, are killed in a blast at a vehicle checkpoint.

November 8

A Black Watch soldier is killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq, north of the regiment's base at Camp Dogwood.

-Private Pita Tukatukawaqa of the 1st Battalion The Black Watch died when his Warrior armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. The 27-year-old was married and came from Fiji.

December 17 -Acting Chief Petty Officer Simon Owen aboard HMS Chatham died while on patrol in the Gulf. The married 38-year-old from Plymouth was thought to have died from natural causes.

December 26 A soldier was found dead from a gunshot wound at Shaibah Logistic Base.

-Sergeant Paul Connolly, 33 - no suspicious circumstances.

2005

January 30 Ten personnel - nine from the Royal Air Force and one from the Army - killed when a RAF Hercules crashed 30 kilometres north west of Baghdad.

-Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall, Headquarters Strike Command.

-Flight Lieutenants David Stead, Andrew Smith and Paul Pardoel of 47Squadron, RAF Lyneham.

-Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, Chief Technician Richard Brown and Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson of 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham

-Sergeant Robert O'Connor and Corporal David Williams, of RAF Lyneham

-Acting Lance Corporal Steven Jones, Royal Signals

March 28

A British soldier of the Tyne-Tees Regiment was found dead in his accommodation at Basra.

-An investigation into the death of Private Mark Dobson, 41, is still underway.

May 2

The death of a soldier from 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards announced.

-Guardsman Anthony John Wakefield, 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died during the early hours of May 2 as a result of wounds sustained during a routine patrol in Al Amarah, Iraq. He was a 24-year-old married father-of-three from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

May 29 -Lance Corporal Brackenbury, 21, from East Yorkshire, died after an explosion in Amarah, north of Basra, which Iraqi police say was caused by a roadside bomb. The soldier, who was serving with the King's Royal Hussars in A Squadron, was in a military convoy passing nearby.

June 29

Signaller Paul William Didsbury, 18, of the Royal Signals, died after have accidentally shooting himself at Basra airport, in Basra, southern Iraq.

Mr Didsbury, of Blackpool, was serving with the 21st Signal Regiment

July 16

Three British soldiers from C Company, the 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment, died in a roadside bomb blast in the Risaala district of Al Amarah.

-Second Lieutenant Richard Shearer, 26, was from Nuneaton.

-Private Phillip Hewett, 21, was from Tamworth.

-Private Leon Spicer, 26, was also a Tamworth soldier.

September 5 Two British soldiers from C Company, 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, died when a roadside bomb exploded during a patrol near Az Zubayr, Basra province.

-Fusilier Donal Anthony Meade, 20, was from Plumstead, south east London.

-Fusilier Stephen Robert Manning, 22, was from Erith, Kent.

September 11

A British soldier is killed in what is believed to be a roadside bomb explosion near his convoy in Basra.

-Major Matthew Bacon, 34, from London, was serving as a staff officer with Headquarters Multi National Division South East.

October 15

The body of Captain Ken Masters, 40, is discovered in his accommodation in Waterloo Lines, Basra. The married father-of-two was responsible for the investigation of all in-theatre serious incidents.

October 18

A soldier is killed in a roadside bomb in Basra, southern Iraq.

-Sergeant Chris Hickey of 1st Battalion the Coldstream Guards died as a result of his injuries sustained from the bomb which went off at 11.20pm local time. He was married with a son.

November 21 A soldier on routine patrol died as a result of his injuries sustained from a roadside bomb in Basra.

-Sergeant John Jones, from 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, grew up in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. He was married to Nickie and father to five-year-old Jack.

January 30 A soldier is killed after being hit by enemy fire in the Maysan Province, southern Iraq.

-Lance Corporal Alan Douglas, 22, from the 7th Armoured Brigade, was on his first tour of duty in the region.

January 31 A soldier from the 7th Armoured Brigade died in an explosion in Um Qasr, Basra Province.

    Iraq death toll, G, 31.1.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1698892,00.html

Angry soldiers demand 'trade' federation

Courts martial and equipment failures fuel rank and file discontent

Thursday January 26, 2006
The Guardian
Audrey Gillan and Richard Norton-Taylor

A groundswell of discontent among members of the armed forces is leading to calls for the formation of a federation to campaign for the rights of the 250,000 servicemen and women in the UK.

A battery of concerns over Iraq, including shortages of kit during the invasion, as well as misgivings about the proposed new deployment to Afghanistan, along with the issues of bullying, the fall in recruitment and retention of soldiers, have galvanised the call for an association.

But the real motor driving the campaign is the prosecution of soldiers for alleged abuses and "war crimes" in Iraq. Many service personnel feel such cases are politically-inspired and are angry that the decision to prosecute has been taken out of the hands of senior officers. They argue such cases undermine morale and the crucial relationship between commanding officers and their troops in the field.

The proposal, which would see the formation of an association along the lines of the Police Federation, has been raised in the House of Lords and has been widely discussed among the rank and file. With the provisional title of the British Armed Forces Federation, the association is the brainchild of serving soldiers and ex-servicemen who insist it would not be a union - illegal under the Queen's Regulations which every serviceman is bound by. Similar federations exist in the United States and Australia.

Last night, Lord Garden, a former RAF air marshal and veteran of the first Gulf war, said: "It's a pretty live issue. I was surprised talking to retired senior military people who are prepared to think about it, saying there might be a case for it."

Tim Collins, former colonel of 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, said: "If the chain of command is failing to support servicemen in the increasingly socio-econmic issues affecting their lives, as well as legal issues, there is no doubt that a model based on the Police Federation is appropriate. I much regret it but there is an overwhelming need for it. That need reflects the fact that there is disappointment with the chain of command who have clearly lost a button off their cuff."

The federation could not strike or change the government's strategic policy. Lord Garden said: "It could not say, 'we will not go to Iraq' but it could say, 'we would like enough body armour'."

Today, the defence secretary, John Reid, will confirm that Britain will send up to 4,000 troops to Afghanistan in the spring. The soldiers' association would represent the interests of members of the army, navy and air force in everything from welfare to legal matters. Its supporters say it could provide help for soldiers facing court martial as a result of actions in Iraq and assist those who feel they are victims of bullying.

The idea came earlier this month from members of a website for the armed forces called the Army Rumour Service. It picked up such a head of steam that Lord Garden, raised the issue in parliament.

Yesterday, an MoD spokesman said it was not considering a federation, saying: "There are a range of avenues for soldiers, sailors and airmen to express their views on matters which affect their service."

The proposed federation is being raised during the reading of the armed forces bill.

Jeff Duncan of Save the Scottish Regiments, said: "All they are asking for is some respect and be treated fairly and honestly. Many within the military have reached breaking point, either leaving en masse or attempting to protect themselves via this organisation.

    Angry soldiers demand 'trade' federation, G, 26.1.2006, http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,1695004,00.html

The life and death of an Iraq veteran who could take no more

Published: 25 January 2006
The Independent
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington and Oliver Duff

By his own admission Douglas Barber, a former army reservist, was struggling. For two years since returning from the chaos and violence of Iraq, the 35-year-old had battled with his memories and his demons, the things he had seen and the fear he had experienced. Recently, it seemed he had turned a corner, securing medical help and counselling.

But last week, at his home in south-eastern Alabama, the National Guardsman e-mailed some friends and then changed the message on his answering machine. His new message told callers: "If you're looking for Doug, I'm checking out of this world. I'll see you on the other side." Mr Barber dialled the police, stepped on to the porch with his shotgun and - after a brief stand-off with officers - shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The death of Mr Barber is one of numerous instances of Iraqi veterans who have taken their own lives since the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in spring 2003. Concern is such that the Pentagon has recently instigated new procedures for monitoring the mental health of returning troops. But his story would not have been told but for a group of determined activists and a British journalism student who was among the handful of people the reservist e-mailed just minutes before he killed himself.

Craig Evans, 19, a student at Bournemouth University, was working on a project about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had been in regular contact with Mr Barber. But the e-mail message he received on Monday 16 January told him something was terribly wrong. It read: "I have nothing to live for any more - I am going to be checking out of this world." Mr Evans said he tried to contact the US embassy and some of Mr Barber's friends in the US to alert them to what he suspected might happen. "I e-mailed him back and wrote, 'I am going to ring you, don't do anything stupid'.It was an effort in vain: within an hour Mr Barber had used his shotgun to end to his torment.

Mr Evans said: "Doug said he wasn't the same person when he got back [from Iraq] - he was paranoid, had lost his social skills, his marriage was over, he couldn't walk down the street without worrying something was going to blow up. I made a promise to him that I would do everything I could to get his story out there."

Mr Barber was a member of the 1485th Transportation Company of the Ohio National Guard and was called up for active duty in February 2003. He arrived in Iraq in summer 2003, when the initial invasion had been completed and just as the insurgency was gathering strength.

He spent seven months in Iraq, driving trucks and trying to avoid the deadly perils that confronted him. He was haunted by the deaths of his colleagues and by the fear and desperation he saw in the faces of Iraqis. Like many reservists pushed into the front line, Mr Barber said he was not properly trained.

"It was really bad - death was all around you, all the time. You couldn't escape it," he said in an interview after he returned to Alabama with the campaign group Coalition for Free Thought in Media. "Everybody in Iraq was going through suicide counselling because the stress was so high. It was at such a magnitude, such a high level, that it was unthinkable for anyone to imagine. You cannot even imagine it." He was opposed to the war but felt obliged to go because he believed that without the experience his opinion would be invalid.

Friends said that when Mr Barber returned things started to fall apart and he split from his wife of 11 years. He had been prescribed clonazepam, an anti-anxiety drug that can cause depression. One friend of more than 13 years, Rick Hays, a minister from Indiana, said: "He was a really good guy, pretty level-headed ... He liked to have fun. But when he came back from Iraq the difference in him was so sad."

Charlie Anderson, of Iraq Veterans Against the War, said the federal Veterans Administration relied too heavily on the use of drugs for dealing with returning soldiers suffering from stress.

Mr Barber's sister, Connie Bingham, said a funeral was due to take place on Saturday.

'We live with permanent scars from horrific events'

Doug Barber wrote this internet article on 12 January, just before he died

My thought today is to help you the reader understand what happens to a soldier when they come home and the sacrifice we continue to make. This war on terror has become a personal war for so many, yet the Bush administration do not want to reveal to America that this is a personal war. They want to run it like a business, and thus they refuse to show the personal sacrifices the soldiers and their families have made for this country.

All is not OK or right for those of us who return home alive and supposedly well. What looks like normalcy and readjustment is only an illusion to be revealed by time and torment. Some soldiers come home missing limbs and other parts of their bodies. Still others will live with permanent scars from horrific events that no one other than those who served will ever understand. We come home from war trying to put our lives back together but some cannot stand the memories and decide that death is better. We kill ourselves because we are so haunted by seeing children killed and whole families wiped out.

Others come home to nothing, families have abandoned them: husbands and wives have left these soldiers, and so have parents. Post-traumatic stress disorder has become the norm amongst these soldiers because they don't know how to cope with returning to a society that will never understand what they have endured.

PTSD comes in many forms not understood by many: but yet if a soldier has it, America thinks the soldiers are crazy. PTSD comes in the form of depression, anger, regret, being confrontational, anxiety, chronic pain, compulsion, delusions, grief, guilt, dependence, loneliness, sleep disorders, suspiciousness/paranoia, low self-esteem and so many other things.

We are easily startled with a loud bang or noise and can be found ducking for cover when we get panicked. This is a result of artillery rounds going off in a combat zone, or an improvised explosive device blowing up.

I myself have trouble coping with an everyday routine that often causes me to have a short fuse. A lot of soldiers lose jobs just because they are trained to be killers and they have lived in an environment that is conducive to that. We are always on guard for our safety and that of our comrades. When you go to bed at night you wonder will you be sent home in a flag-draped coffin because a mortar round went off on your sleeping area.

Soldiers live in deplorable conditions where burning your own faeces is the order of the day, where going days on end with no shower and the uniform you wear gets so crusty it sticks to your body becomes a common occurrence. We also deal with rationing water or even food. So when a soldier comes home they are unsure of what to do.

This is what PTSD comes in the shape of - soldiers can not often handle coming back to the same world they left behind. It is something that drives soldiers over the edge and causes them to withdraw from society. As Americans we turn our nose down at them wondering why they act the way they do. Who cares about them, why should we help them?

By his own admission Douglas Barber, a former army reservist, was struggling. For two years since returning from the chaos and violence of Iraq, the 35-year-old had battled with his memories and his demons, the things he had seen and the fear he had experienced. Recently, it seemed he had turned a corner, securing medical help and counselling.

But last week, at his home in south-eastern Alabama, the National Guardsman e-mailed some friends and then changed the message on his answering machine. His new message told callers: "If you're looking for Doug, I'm checking out of this world. I'll see you on the other side." Mr Barber dialled the police, stepped on to the porch with his shotgun and - after a brief stand-off with officers - shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The death of Mr Barber is one of numerous instances of Iraqi veterans who have taken their own lives since the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in spring 2003. Concern is such that the Pentagon has recently instigated new procedures for monitoring the mental health of returning troops. But his story would not have been told but for a group of determined activists and a British journalism student who was among the handful of people the reservist e-mailed just minutes before he killed himself.

Craig Evans, 19, a student at Bournemouth University, was working on a project about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had been in regular contact with Mr Barber. But the e-mail message he received on Monday 16 January told him something was terribly wrong. It read: "I have nothing to live for any more - I am going to be checking out of this world." Mr Evans said he tried to contact the US embassy and some of Mr Barber's friends in the US to alert them to what he suspected might happen. "I e-mailed him back and wrote, 'I am going to ring you, don't do anything stupid'.It was an effort in vain: within an hour Mr Barber had used his shotgun to end to his torment.

Mr Evans said: "Doug said he wasn't the same person when he got back [from Iraq] - he was paranoid, had lost his social skills, his marriage was over, he couldn't walk down the street without worrying something was going to blow up. I made a promise to him that I would do everything I could to get his story out there."

Mr Barber was a member of the 1485th Transportation Company of the Ohio National Guard and was called up for active duty in February 2003. He arrived in Iraq in summer 2003, when the initial invasion had been completed and just as the insurgency was gathering strength.

He spent seven months in Iraq, driving trucks and trying to avoid the deadly perils that confronted him. He was haunted by the deaths of his colleagues and by the fear and desperation he saw in the faces of Iraqis. Like many reservists pushed into the front line, Mr Barber said he was not properly trained.

"It was really bad - death was all around you, all the time. You couldn't escape it," he said in an interview after he returned to Alabama with the campaign group Coalition for Free Thought in Media. "Everybody in Iraq was going through suicide counselling because the stress was so high. It was at such a magnitude, such a high level, that it was unthinkable for anyone to imagine. You cannot even imagine it." He was opposed to the war but felt obliged to go because he believed that without the experience his opinion would be invalid.

Friends said that when Mr Barber returned things started to fall apart and he split from his wife of 11 years. He had been prescribed clonazepam, an anti-anxiety drug that can cause depression. One friend of more than 13 years, Rick Hays, a minister from Indiana, said: "He was a really good guy, pretty level-headed ... He liked to have fun. But when he came back from Iraq the difference in him was so sad."
Charlie Anderson, of Iraq Veterans Against the War, said the federal Veterans Administration relied too heavily on the use of drugs for dealing with returning soldiers suffering from stress.

Mr Barber's sister, Connie Bingham, said a funeral was due to take place on Saturday.

'We live with permanent scars from horrific events'

Doug Barber wrote this internet article on 12 January, just before he died

My thought today is to help you the reader understand what happens to a soldier when they come home and the sacrifice we continue to make. This war on terror has become a personal war for so many, yet the Bush administration do not want to reveal to America that this is a personal war. They want to run it like a business, and thus they refuse to show the personal sacrifices the soldiers and their families have made for this country.

All is not OK or right for those of us who return home alive and supposedly well. What looks like normalcy and readjustment is only an illusion to be revealed by time and torment. Some soldiers come home missing limbs and other parts of their bodies. Still others will live with permanent scars from horrific events that no one other than those who served will ever understand. We come home from war trying to put our lives back together but some cannot stand the memories and decide that death is better. We kill ourselves because we are so haunted by seeing children killed and whole families wiped out.

Others come home to nothing, families have abandoned them: husbands and wives have left these soldiers, and so have parents. Post-traumatic stress disorder has become the norm amongst these soldiers because they don't know how to cope with returning to a society that will never understand what they have endured.

PTSD comes in many forms not understood by many: but yet if a soldier has it, America thinks the soldiers are crazy. PTSD comes in the form of depression, anger, regret, being confrontational, anxiety, chronic pain, compulsion, delusions, grief, guilt, dependence, loneliness, sleep disorders, suspiciousness/paranoia, low self-esteem and so many other things.

We are easily startled with a loud bang or noise and can be found ducking for cover when we get panicked. This is a result of artillery rounds going off in a combat zone, or an improvised explosive device blowing up.

I myself have trouble coping with an everyday routine that often causes me to have a short fuse. A lot of soldiers lose jobs just because they are trained to be killers and they have lived in an environment that is conducive to that. We are always on guard for our safety and that of our comrades. When you go to bed at night you wonder will you be sent home in a flag-draped coffin because a mortar round went off on your sleeping area.

Soldiers live in deplorable conditions where burning your own faeces is the order of the day, where going days on end with no shower and the uniform you wear gets so crusty it sticks to your body becomes a common occurrence. We also deal with rationing water or even food. So when a soldier comes home they are unsure of what to do.

This is what PTSD comes in the shape of - soldiers can not often handle coming back to the same world they left behind. It is something that drives soldiers over the edge and causes them to withdraw from society. As Americans we turn our nose down at them wondering why they act the way they do. Who cares about them, why should we help them?

    The life and death of an Iraq veteran who could take no more, I, 25.1.2006, http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article340826.ece