THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ, TENTH THREAD.

This was the big lead story on the BBC radio news this morning.

BRITAIN'S top soldier today insisted his call for our troops to be withdrawn from Iraq "some time soon" was not a break with Government policy.

General Sir Richard Dannatt said his comments about Iraq were neither "substantially new or substantially newsworthy".

Sir Richard, who only became Chief of the General Staff in August, was speaking after warning in a newspaper interview that we should "get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems".

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning, he said: "It was never my intention to have this hoo-ha which people have thoroughly enjoyed overnight in trying to suggest there is a chasm between myself as head of the Army and the Prime Minister or between myself as head of the Army and the Secretary of State for Defence.

"My intention is particularly to speak up for what is right for the Army. That is my job. That is my constituency.

"If some people have chosen to pick up one or two of the comments I have made and tried to make frankly quite a large mountain or chasm out of that then so be it.

"But I think a lot of this comment has just grown comment on comment and some of it has got a bit fanciful."

International terrorism could be fuelled by anger over the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, the Government has admitted for the first time.

Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, made the most strident British demand yet for its closure, but faced immediate accusations of hypocrisy for refusing to intervene on behalf of UK residents incarcerated there.

She warned that the camp was as much a "radicalising and destabilising influence" as it was an aid in the "war on terror".

From what I can tell, this general is not a "radical left" because of his views on Christianity and Islam; (If you have those in UK?) but just a soldier looking out for soldiers rather than being a yes man to the politicians.

Sir Richard Dannatt : A very honest General

Come on Bernie-

You ended up on the side of a Republican judge at Dover because you approved his decision even though he probably had different reasons from yourself.

And now you seem to be in favour of generals making Government policy over the head of an overwhelming vote in the House of Commons of democratically elected MPs. And he's supportive of Christian values.

What does "soon" mean anyway.

I'm a bit surprised the general hasn't been sacked. He's supposed to take orders and get on with the job not undermine discipline and morale within the ranks and strengthen the insurgents position.

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What do y'all think?

What are the likely consequences for both Iraq and British society of removing British troops from Iraq before the Iraq government asks the British government to remove its troops?

What are the likely consequences for both Iraq and American society of removing American troops from Iraq before the Iraq government asks the American government to remove its troops?

What are the likely consequences for both Iraq and British society of not removing British troops from Iraq until the Iraq government asks the British government to remove its troops?

What are the likely consequences for both Iraq and American society of not removing American troops from Iraq until the Iraq government asks the American government to remove its troops?

This furore is still boiling away good style, in our media. I saw Channel 4 News this evening, and it chipped big holes in Blair's position, by showing statements he made today with statements recorded previously on different occasions.

He is pretending the military's position is identical with his government's, but no-one is buying it.

ican asked :
"What are the likely consequences for both Iraq and British society of not removing British troops from Iraq until the Iraq government asks the British government to remove its troops? "
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it seems to me that british army chief , sir richard , gave an answer to this question .
he said : " get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems".

in plain words : "if we don't get out soon , it will make the security problems worse" .

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Our good general Chief of Staff obviously feels his soldiers have been put in a position they can't win from, and more and more of them are being killed.

What the general said

Saturday October 14, 2006
The Guardian


Key quotes from General Dannatt's interviews in the Daily Mail and on BBC Radio 4's Today programme
[We should] get ourselves out some time soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems.
Daily Mail

We are in a Muslim country and Muslims' views of foreigners in their country are quite clear. As a foreigner you can be welcomed by being invited in a country, but we weren't invited certainly by those in Iraq at the time. The military campaign we fought in 2003 effectively kicked the door in.
Daily Mail

History will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful war-fighting phase was poor probably based more on optimism than sound planning ... The original intention was that we put in place a liberal democracy that was an exemplar for the region, was pro-west and might have a beneficial effect on the balance within the Middle East. Whether that was a sensible or naive hope, history will judge. I don't think we are going to do that. I think we should aim for a lower ambition.
Daily Mail

Whatever consent we may have had in the first place, may have turned to tolerance and has largely turned to intolerance. I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them.
Daily Mail

I am a soldier speaking up for his army and just saying come on we can't be here for ever at this level.
Today

I have an idea of what I would like this country to be and a clear idea of how I would like the army to be and those values and standards are being threatened by other people and other influences.
Today

I'm a soldier - we don't do surrender, we don't pull down white flags. We will remain in southern Iraq until the job is done - we're going to see this through.
Sir Richard's statement yesterday

... the general ... did not just talk about iraq and the present situation ; he spoke of afghanistan , his responsibility for his soldiers and what the situation might be several years down the road .
to me , he gave a pretty convincing argument why the present action can no longer be sustained.
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