UK struggles to be heard in Iraq

By Paul Reynolds
BBC News Online world affairs correspondent

As Tony Blair prepares to fly to Washington for his meeting with President Bush shortly, questions have arisen as to whether Britain has an adequate say in the decisions being taken in Iraq.
The former foreign secretary Lord Hurd said that Britain was "involved in the consequences and I think we should be involved in the taking of those decisions".

He referred in particular to the decisions to attack Falluja and to act against the Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

He recommended sending a senior British envoy to Baghdad to put Britain's case and suggested the recently retired Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson.

snip

The officials were quoted as saying that "while they are sympathetic with the daunting management task that Americans have undertaken, they also believe that the Coalition Provisional Authority under Mr. Bremer has become too 'politicized', meaning that events are orchestrated and information controlled with the American political agenda uppermost in mind".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3616793.stm

however - there are other stories of British military disaffection with US tactics that make interesting reading.

"the Coalition Provisional Authority under Mr. Bremer has become too 'politicized', meaning that events are orchestrated and information controlled with the American political agenda uppermost in mind".....

then he's dumber than Dubya.

Smirky is trying to find someone, anyone, to dump his latest disaster on. Maybe Poodle would like to have the whole thing?

And give him a scratch behind the ears, then we will hear Tony eloquently defend butchery some more. Poodles love the scraps on the butcher's floor.

...for the British contingent in Iraq:

British commanders condemn US military tactics

By Sean Rayment
London
April 12, 2004

<snip>
Senior British commanders have condemned American military tactics in Iraq as heavy-handed and disproportionate.

One senior officer said that America's aggressive methods were causing friction among allied commanders and that there was a growing sense of "unease and frustration" among the British high command.

The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said part of the problem was that American troops viewed Iraqis as untermenschen - the Nazi expression for "sub-humans".

Speaking from his base in southern Iraq, the officer said: "My view and the view of the British chain of command is that the Americans' use of violence is not proportionate and is over-responsive to the threat they are facing. They don't see the Iraqi people the way we see them. They view them as untermenschen. They are not concerned about the Iraqi loss of life in the way the British are."
</snip>

Somehow, I doubt Poodle will bring this up to the Chimp... :eyes:

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occurred to me as to why Britain is staying in .

Could it be that they don't want to "lose" again, like thy did in the 20's?

I know he's getting SOMETHING from Junior, well, besides the bad reputation by association.

I wonder if a vote was put to the British people on that single issue which way it would go.

In Canada, IF we had gone into the war, and the people are against the war, the opposition can challenge in the house, call for a vote in the house, and if the government loses, then the government is out and the people get to vote in a person/gov't to bring the troops home.

Apparently you gotta keep ur pResident unless he lies about some earth-shattering thing like a bj.

Murdering innocent people in another sovereign nation is OK.

Over 17,000 people have been killed since the US troops invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003. That number includes what is fast approaching 700 US personnel.

Saddam is gone, yes. But the citizens of Iraq are NOT better off, many have lost relatives and loved ones, and tens of thousands are wounded. The years to come will claim more as the effects of the USA's Depleted Uranium weapons and armor infects the general population.

If Britain is wise, it will divorce itself from the madman in the US.

But, in Britain, as in the United States, only massive pressure from it's citizens can slow this WarMachine down.

(sigh)

and 8 or 10 wounded. It seems that the mess is spreading into areas in which the Iraqis are treated somewhat more humanely. So they are right to worry.

Blair is an idiot, so is a majority of the Parliament for going along with this bald faced imperial move. Fuck Blair and fuck anybody who went along with this insane criminal act.