Hearts and minds

FROM a military point of view Britain has been trying to fight the war in Iraq with one hand tied behind its back. There is also a perception in British military circles and the myth is well documented by the British media that the average British squaddie is good at winning the hearts and minds of the population where they are serving. The example of Northern Ireland is often cited but let us not forget that in some circles the British army is still treated as the enemy in some areas of the province. The welcome they received by the so-called Republican population when they marched into Belfast at the height of the troubles was short-lived. The military term, winning “hearts and minds” was first used during the “troubles” in Malaya. I remember as a reporter on this paper asking a veteran of the campaign and saying that the secret of the success of the operation had been “hearts and minds.” He replied that this was a myth and Britain had won because it had taken on the terrorists or freedom fighters in the jungle and had successfully taken them out. “It's a bit difficult for your average British squaddie to win the hearts and minds of a population of a country he knows little about, who speak a different language and who are culturally very different,” he told me. But the myth of hearts and minds was born and it has stayed with us ever since. Fifty years later in Iraq and the British Army is sent into the so-called triangle of death and the main weapon in its arsenal appears to be winning “hearts and minds.” “We are going to do what the Americans couldn't” was the basic rhetoric from the army top brass. Thirty-six hours into the operation and three British soldiers are killed in a tragic incident. The British army was forced to admit that they have never dealt with suicide bombers before and they will have to change their tactics. From a military stand-point British commanders must start recognising that they are dealing with a new type of warfare, something they have never seen before. The area they are now controlling is not called the “Triangle of Death” for nothing. This is not Basra, where the majority of the population was anti-Saddam Hussein, this is the frontline and as any American soldier who has served there will tell you, it is a very dangerous part of the country. The time for winning hearts and mines will come but to avoid the tragedy of the other night British troops must be equipped and be fully aware that they are stationed in a dangerous part of Iraq where the tactics of Basra probably won't work.

It is a great shame that British troops have been put in this position. Some newspapers have claimed that it was a military decision to send British troops north rather than a political one. It is difficult to tell. However, there must be nothing worse for soldiers on the frontline, especially those of the Black Watch, to know that back home in Britain much of the country is opposed to the war. Unless the British government and the military top brass come clean and admit that they have sent troops to one of the most dangerous places on earth and forget the myths of the military handbook the consequences for both the government and the military are going to be very grave indeed.

Perhaps the time has come for Britain to look closely at its military deployment in Iraq. With President Bush returned to office with a clear mandate to continue operations in Iraq the time has come for Britain to start working on an exit strategy rather than getting more involved in a conflict which few in Europe support and which has already claimed the lives of scores of British servicemen. The time for hearts and minds has come and gone. If Britain wants to persist with the strategy of hearts and minds then perhaps it is Britain itself where it is most needed.