We're back at war in Iraq, says general Sir Mike Jackson

[cal04]

(back at war, when did it stop,did they think it would because some idiot stood on a flight deck and said so)


Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the Army, has admitted that British troops in Iraq are "back at war". He is the first authoritative figure to concede that war is still being waged in Iraq, 16 months after President George W Bush declared that combat operations were over.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the Chief of the General Staff said that August had been a difficult month for soldiers serving in southern Iraq. Gen Sir Mike Jackson: 'August was a very busy month'

"Soldiers are now fighting a counter-insurgency war," said Sir Mike. "August was a very busy month and British soldiers were involved in war fighting." The general said that many of the terrorists were foreigners who had entered Iraq through one of its many porous borders, and some were known to be Syrians. "The insurgents are made up of both indigenous and foreign fighters and there is evidence that some of these terrorists are Syrians," he said. "Iraq's borders are long and very open but, if more could be done to secure borders, the security situation in Iraq would improve.

"The suicide bombers are unlikely to be Iraqi. Suicide is just not their way, so there is evidence that the insurgents are being supported from outside Iraq," said the general.Although he admitted that the situation in Iraq was difficult, Sir Mike denied that it was unresolvable, or that the British Army had been unprepared to deal with internal security after regime change had been achieved.
"I don't think we were caught out by this counter-insurgency war. From a British dimension, the planning for post-war Iraq had allowed for a less-than-benign atmosphere, so I don't think it is fair to say that we were caught out or unprepared," he said.

Tony Blair last night sought to quash claims that he had been warned a year before invading Iraq that the war could result in chaos and require large numbers of troops for "many years".The Prime Minister spoke out after leaked documents were published in The Telegraph detailing a series of concerns expressed by Jack Straw and some of the most senior officials in 10 Downing Street and Whitehall. The Conservatives said the leak showed that Mr Blair had misled people in claiming that a clear plan existed for dealing with the aftermath of war.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/19/wirq19.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/09/19/ixportal.html

[JoFerret]

1. Getting the sense that the military leaders

are mighty annoyed with BushBlairCo

[cal04]

2. they should be

US and British soldiers such as these at a suspected bombed oil pipeline site south-east of Basra, on July 29, continue to face daily attacks and acts of sabotage two months after the war was declared over by US President George W. Bush. --

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/iraqwar/0,5013,,00.html

[LynnTheDem]

3. Tony the bLiar has always been a huge liar.

On Iraq tho he's really shining as a liar. He's STILL denying he spoke to bush about their upcoming invasion of Iraq back in summer 2002. Even tho bLiar's OWN MEMOS showed he did in fact fly to Crawford to speak with bush about their planned invasion of Iraq and HOW BEST TO DUPE the US and UK citizens into believing their bullshite.

Unfortunately for bLiar, the UK citizens weren't duped and don't like their public servants trying to con them.

Fortunately for bush, half the citizens in the US don't mind being total rubes, conned and duped by their public servants.

[TaleWgnDg]

4. totally incompetent . . .

"Mission Accomplished" -- GWBush in military flight jumpsuit
aboard U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, May 1, 2003
(the carrier had been turned around to depict an ocean view
for photos and slowed down to a stand-still for the plane landing)

[qanda]

5. It seems there was more planning...

For the "Mission Accomplished" photo-op than the aftermath of this stupid war. Go figure :shrug:

[TaleWgnDg]

6. yup . . . n/t

[DivinBreuvage]

15. Who's that with him, Star Trek or Sgt. Pepper?

Either way, they make a fitting entourage for the fantasy world that strutting criminal lives in.

[jmcgowanjm]

7. Brits pulling troops in October/US to start CarpetBombing Nov

Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer

The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next
month despite the deteriorating security situation in much of
the country, The Observer has learnt.
The main British combat force in Iraq, about 5,000-strong, will
be reduced by around a third by the end of October during
a routine rotation of units.

Senior American Commander, as early as November, "we will
cut out the cancer."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/international/middleeast/19strategy.html?ex=1096541987&ei=1&en=5166e38ba22ec0e8

Get ready for hell, America

[Rose Siding]

12. Hoon told the BBC that "UK 'would increase Iraq troops'"

The UK would send more troops to Iraq "if necessary" to safeguard planned elections, Geoff Hoon has said.

"If it is necessary to put a few extra troops in to provide appropriate security for the elections we will do that," the defence secretary said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3665960.stm

He was answering a hypothetical but it shows that they haven't got religion just yet.

[jmcgowanjm]

16. yes, I noted that, but look at this, party_line

Retired general Joseph Hoare, the former marine
commandant and head of US Central Command, told me:
"The idea that this is going to go the way these guys planned
is ludicrous. There are no good options. We're conducting
a campaign as though it were being conducted in Iowa,
no sense of the realities on the ground. It's so unrealistic
for anyone who knows that part of the world. The priorities
are just all wrong."

General Hoare believes from the information he has
received that "a decision has been made" to attack Fallujah
"after the first Tuesday in November. That's the cynical part of
it - after the election. The signs are all there."

And the Brits know exactly what will happen when
massive airstrikes , artillery barrages start on
populated areas.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1305360,00.html

And this:

A military spokesman in Basra confirmed the scaling back of
the British commitment.

Currently there are 8,000 British troops in the 14,000-
strong 'multinational division' in southern Iraq, which
has responsibility for about 4.5 million people.

The cuts will occur in the combat elements of the
deployment - the 5,000-strong infantry and armoured
brigade that is committed to the provinces of Basra and
Maysan. Four Royal Navy ships will remain in the
Gulf.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html

[truth2power]

8. "'August was a very busy month'"

Yeah...people getting their arms and legs and heads blown off.

Busy, you say? That wouldn't be exactly the word that comes to mind.

[cliss]

9. When have we NOT been at war with Iraq?

Ask any Iraqi, he'll tell you. The minute we marched into their country, that's when we were at war. The war has been steadily escalating, despite their hopes and assumptions. The Iraqis are tough, stubborn, and are willing to die for their homeland. The sooner we realize this, the better.

For the amount of money we've spent there and are about to spend in the near future, we could have bought the country and still been friends with them.

[bemildred]

10. Yeah, "No Shit Sherlock!". nt

[pfitz59]

11. Another kid from my county was killed yesterday...

Bush* is a war criminal. This shit has got to end......

[Malva Zebrina]

13. Everytime I see that photo

I want to spit in his face.

Apparently the Brit system of Parliament is no better than the two party system here. It's more fun to watch than Senators debating before empty seats, though. Both have leaders that are liars, treasonous, and no one can get rid of them for four years.

[tlcandie]

14. You know... if I was a General SIR I think that if this is the best I

could come up with... I believe I would just keep my mouth shut! This makes him look very ignorant either because he is or because he's chosen to be...whichever it is would have been a lot less apparent if he had just kept his mouth shut!

How can anyone say this now? This fact he decides to just now release is a no brainer!!!! Do these people really think the soldiers under their command as such idiots? Do these people really think that the citizens of their respective countries are so ignorant?

Actually, this is an insult, IMO.