[Previous entry: "Copymonkey"] [Next entry: "Attempt"]

04/04/2006: "Saving the world"

How can you tell this is a dead insurgent?
Because it's dead... (hm, isn't this an elderly woman in her nightgown?)

I was reading this article on the BBC website extolling the glory of elite military units when I came across this sentence: "The recent public resignation of former SAS trooper, Ben Griffin, 28, who refused to return to Iraq and has now joined the anti-war lobby, reminds us of their presence in the Gulf." I was surprised I hadn't heard about it, as this is exactly the kind of news I tend to pick up.(maybe it had happened last year and I had forgotten). It brought back memories of Scott Ritter (former UN inspector) who had been very vocal about the lack of WMDs in Iraq, but whose professional record had been criticised.

Guess my surprise when I found out that Griffin's resignation happened last month. He had told his commanding officer that he was refusing to return to Iraq because he felt the war was morally wrong. And the only consequence for his action was to receive a honourable discharge, with the testimonial that he is a "balanced and honest soldier who possesses the strength and character to genuinely have the courage of his convictions". (!)

Griffin's account of the reality on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan explains many things - even if we leave aside the decision process of military intervention, then at least the disconnect between top-level policy of "winning hearts and minds", and how it all works on the ground when you have a bunch of young soldiers with big guns in a hostile, unknown environment. I mean it makes sense. Sending soldiers to do "reconstruction" and building a peaceful environment seems a bit contradictory. Especially when they're armed and don't speak the language and don't want to be there.

The following articles paint this reality quite well:
Original Telegraph article | Counterpunch | Hartfordadvocate

And it also made me think about Denis Donaldson's murder (British spy), reported today. Trying to familiarise myself with the Stormont affair, I couldn't help having the feeling that in Northern Ireland, same as in Iraq, it's not really about fixing stuff and making things "better" for people (warm fuzzy feeling). It's like it's more about who's in control of what, or something. Or is this just another of my comments on stuff I know nothing about?