British army 'using terrorist tacticts and weapons' [not in Basra]
db: The following letter was sent in to the London Times concerning the parallels between the British strategy in Aden in the 60's and Iraq today. This prompted us to dig around a little, and we found 'Adens Last hours' - which makes 'fun' reading - see clip below.
From Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Haldane (retd)
Sir, The Defence Secretary said on the BBC Today programme that we're going to leave Iraq when the democratically elected Government is prepared to take on responsibility for security and asks us to go.
Perhaps someone in the Ministry of Defence should remind the Secretary of State or the Prime Minister about Aden in the 1960s and our efforts to establish reliable trained security forces there in the form of the police and the Federation Regular Army. Both were infiltrated by terrorist organisations, and it ended in the murder of British servicemen, ignominious withdrawal and violent revolutionary takeover.
How will our exit from Iraq be different, exactly?
A clip from Aden's Last Hours By Reginal Lingham
...Back to JK's arrival, they approached the Red Sea Hotel at a fast rate of knots, and all JKs concentration was on the block of flats opposite looking for snipers. Suddenly JB swerved right, across the central reservation, and into the road at the side of the flats that ran through the Ma'alah Bandar. This side road joined the major road called the Ma'alah Main near Tawahi on the road towards Steamer Point. Huge signs were displayed in English and Arabic on each side of the road and on awnings stretched over the top of the track, saying that this route was strictly out of bounds to all traffic including military vehicles. To top this up, 'Danger Mine' signs were everywhere. JB just smashed his way through, knocking over old corrugated iron sheeted 'Kochi huts,' (temporary Arab dwellings) old bins and anything else he could use his roadblock crash bars on with good effect. He was laughing a maniacal scream of a laugh as he wrought this destruction.
"Watch out for crowds of kids."
He shouted over the roar of the engine, swerving to the right to deliberately knock over a bicycle parked at the side of the track.
"The terrorist uses kids as a cover for grenade attack, there's a crowd of kids, we slow down for them, the kids all hit the ground, a grenade comes from behind them. Motto? Run the kids down, kill the grenadier behind them. Understood"?
"Understood."
This little revelation was not news to JK, his brief from Harry included this terrorist ploy, and it had been used on six occasions, killing four British soldiers and injuring eight. As they continued on JB's stock car racing practice circuit to Steamer Point, JK even though very entertained by JB's antics, had time to reflect on why he was sent here and what he had to do in the future months ahead. He had a licence to ignore politics and protocol plus military rules and regulations, and employ the terrorist weapons and tactics against the terrorists themselves, using 'Misinformation and Psychological Warfare' to its and his maximum potential. Why he was here was caused by a short but recent history of political events, which would lead to the British military withdrawal from Aden.
..The Aden Protectorate Levies was formed; a small army of Arabs under British Officers mostly from the RAF Regiment and well equipped with Ferret armoured cars brought the British and the local Sultans into closer alliance. The colonial power also had a more modern system of controlling the tribesmen, Air Power Policing or APL. If a village or a Sultan caused any trouble, leaflets were dropped, from aircraft warning them they would be bombed and at what time, if they didn't hand in hostages to prove their good behaviour in the future. If this instruction was not complied with they were bombed. They were ordered to move everybody plus their livestock out of the village, and at the precise time the village would be bombed into oblivion. This was found to be an excellent, fast, cheap, and cost effective way of controlling a large number of people spread out over a large almost inaccessible area of land. Read more
From Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Haldane (retd)
Sir, The Defence Secretary said on the BBC Today programme that we're going to leave Iraq when the democratically elected Government is prepared to take on responsibility for security and asks us to go.
Perhaps someone in the Ministry of Defence should remind the Secretary of State or the Prime Minister about Aden in the 1960s and our efforts to establish reliable trained security forces there in the form of the police and the Federation Regular Army. Both were infiltrated by terrorist organisations, and it ended in the murder of British servicemen, ignominious withdrawal and violent revolutionary takeover.
How will our exit from Iraq be different, exactly?
A clip from Aden's Last Hours By Reginal Lingham
...Back to JK's arrival, they approached the Red Sea Hotel at a fast rate of knots, and all JKs concentration was on the block of flats opposite looking for snipers. Suddenly JB swerved right, across the central reservation, and into the road at the side of the flats that ran through the Ma'alah Bandar. This side road joined the major road called the Ma'alah Main near Tawahi on the road towards Steamer Point. Huge signs were displayed in English and Arabic on each side of the road and on awnings stretched over the top of the track, saying that this route was strictly out of bounds to all traffic including military vehicles. To top this up, 'Danger Mine' signs were everywhere. JB just smashed his way through, knocking over old corrugated iron sheeted 'Kochi huts,' (temporary Arab dwellings) old bins and anything else he could use his roadblock crash bars on with good effect. He was laughing a maniacal scream of a laugh as he wrought this destruction.
"Watch out for crowds of kids."
He shouted over the roar of the engine, swerving to the right to deliberately knock over a bicycle parked at the side of the track.
"The terrorist uses kids as a cover for grenade attack, there's a crowd of kids, we slow down for them, the kids all hit the ground, a grenade comes from behind them. Motto? Run the kids down, kill the grenadier behind them. Understood"?
"Understood."
This little revelation was not news to JK, his brief from Harry included this terrorist ploy, and it had been used on six occasions, killing four British soldiers and injuring eight. As they continued on JB's stock car racing practice circuit to Steamer Point, JK even though very entertained by JB's antics, had time to reflect on why he was sent here and what he had to do in the future months ahead. He had a licence to ignore politics and protocol plus military rules and regulations, and employ the terrorist weapons and tactics against the terrorists themselves, using 'Misinformation and Psychological Warfare' to its and his maximum potential. Why he was here was caused by a short but recent history of political events, which would lead to the British military withdrawal from Aden.
..The Aden Protectorate Levies was formed; a small army of Arabs under British Officers mostly from the RAF Regiment and well equipped with Ferret armoured cars brought the British and the local Sultans into closer alliance. The colonial power also had a more modern system of controlling the tribesmen, Air Power Policing or APL. If a village or a Sultan caused any trouble, leaflets were dropped, from aircraft warning them they would be bombed and at what time, if they didn't hand in hostages to prove their good behaviour in the future. If this instruction was not complied with they were bombed. They were ordered to move everybody plus their livestock out of the village, and at the precise time the village would be bombed into oblivion. This was found to be an excellent, fast, cheap, and cost effective way of controlling a large number of people spread out over a large almost inaccessible area of land. Read more
posted by exoplanet at 1:57 AM
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