There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff. "British troops hide from bombers," by Michael Smith in the TimesOnline, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
BRITISH troops in the two main towns in the southern Afghan province of Helmand have been forced to stay in their barracks by the threat of Taliban suicide bombers.The decision to keep the troops in their bases follows intelligence that suicide bombers are waiting in the province’s two main towns to attack British troops, said Lieutenant-Colonel Andy Price.
The would-be suicide bombers in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah and in the town of Gereshk were wired up with explosives and waiting for a British convoy. “We have suicide bombers physically walking around in Lashkar Gah and Gereshk looking for us — a lot of them are not locals,” Price said. “More and more they’re following the Iraqi example.”
Price, spokesman for the British forces in Helmand, said there was a “lockdown” of the two British bases. “There is no movement, no soldier, no police or the Afghan army,” he said. “We’re not going out and the Afghan police and army aren’t going out.”
The “lockdown” raises questions about how the Royal Marine commandos who last month replaced British paratroopers in Helmand will provide security to allow reconstruction projects to go ahead.
Lieutenant-General David Richards, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, has said that he wants British troops to withdraw from the northern outposts of Helmand and concentrate on creating safe development zones in Lashkar Gah and Gereshk.
By focusing reconstruction efforts on those two towns, Richards hopes to persuade residents that they are better off without the Taliban. But that will be impossible unless British and Afghan forces can provide security.
Reconstruction won't persuade them of anything. The Taliban argue on Islamic grounds. The British have no response to that. Neither does Hamid Karzai.
Uh, these suicide nuts are walking around looking for British troops? Why the hell aren't they shooting the bastards down? This sounds like Paris-maybe if we lock ourselves in the big bad crazies will leave us alone. Whoever is in charge of British operations in Afghanistan needs to be replaced rather than have his troops remain as sitting ducks. Either that or pull out altogether. What the hell is the point of sending troops anywhere if you don't let them wipe out the enemy?
The British. Well, look at it this way. The Germans are better drinkers and better fighters, and even the Germans have been sissified since WW II.
This is what happens when you play a defensive role. You try not to get killed, rather than trying to kill. But war doesn't work that way. But then again, the coaltion doesn't see this as a war. They see this, like Vietnam, as a police action. They see this as merely keeping the peace, occupying, building infrastructure and handing out candy. They are not in war mode. Because they are not in war mode, they are focused on not getting killed.
Why aren't they in war mode? Because the muslims have no organized army, air force, or navy. There are no frontlines, and the fighters they have are mostly assassins, punks, kids, suicide bombers, and a motley crew of other assorted rifraff running around in their pajamas. For the west, this does not constitute a real war. This is like policing a ghetto in Paris. That's a mistake of course, but that's the rationalization behind this status quo.
When Bush said that major combat operations were over, the war mode ceased to function. That was when the war in Iraq was lost. Never stop fighting until the enemy is all dead, or they surrendered. This never happened in Iraq. The west is too PC to require the surrender, or obliteration, of a muslim nation, in the same way we required such capitulation from the Germans and the Japanese.
In short, the British are hiding because they are not allowed to fight. They are not allowed to fight because the West still wants to win hearts and minds. What the leaders do not understand is that you win the heart and mind of a muslim nation in a far different way than a non-muslim nation.
"There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff."
I have no reason to imagine that British soldiers aren't made of the same (stern) stuff they ever were. It seems to be more a matter of British soldiers (American ones as well) having their hands tied by bleeding-heart civilian/domestic political considerations of the sort that could bring massive negative press and even legal reprisals against soldiers who kill any "noncombatants" inadvertently. I suppose this won't fundamentally change until the average western political citizen recognizes that he can't have his cake and eat it too (or however that saying goes).
The only military strategy that makes sense is to place our troops and armor in fortified, isolated bases in Kurdistan, away from the ‘street’ or any other cover that could be used to move weapons among civilians. Make sure there are nuclear-resistant bomb shelters (not really that tough for the likely threat). Include a large airstrip for combat aircraft and re-supply.
The mission should be to disengage, sit, survive, and wait until needed.
Could this be happening? Maybe the British didn’t feel the need to wait until after our elections. There is nothing wrong with the British fighting spirit, at least at the operational level.
The easy way to keep the suicide bombers away is to simply shoot everyone who gets within 50 yards of you.
This might make patrolling in villages difficult.
It also cause a negative reaction, both in The Stan and back home. Often, the simplest solutions wind up being the most complex.
I find the tone of some of the posted comments a bit odd. It is easy to say "Man up, Nancy" while sitting in your comfy chair in front of your computer. It is probably quite a bit different to have to march down the village main street and wonder if the burqa-clad figure coming towards you has a pound of Semtax and five pounds of nails strapped around its waist.
Until you have been on such a patrol, how about giving the troops the benefit of the doubt?
Well, they certainly kicked ass during the Falklands War!!!
http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com
Well, welcome to the day where we hand over the keys of our countries to Islamic Caliphate. Europe first.
I have a friend there whom I correspond with daily, and I can tell you the weather is very bad, and in the mountains, the snow is knee deep which they have to trudge in for days at a time. So, figuring out who is a suicide bomber in freezing cold weather where everyone is bundled up would not be easy to spot and they can't just go shooting everyone. You all need to be considerate of our troops because they're not having an easy time right now in that weather.
"I find the tone of some of the posted comments a bit odd. It is easy to say "Man up, Nancy" while sitting in your comfy chair in front of your computer. It is probably quite a bit different to have to march down the village main street and wonder if the burqa-clad figure coming towards you has a pound of Semtax and five pounds of nails strapped around its waist.
Until you have been on such a patrol, how about giving the troops the benefit of the doubt?"
Excellent point, doughnuts, but I too would like the force of British or US unleashed! What is wrong with shooting anything within 50 feet or yards and asking questions later? War is not pretty nor is our heavily armed soldier hiding from burka-clad cowards like the ones we are fighting.
The soldiers are just doing what they are told and if they are told to go out and fight they will do so.
I saw a taliban commander on the news the other night saying they are doing the suicide bombing because of the pressure they are under and there it is,our soldiers having been handing there arses to them and all they can resort to is the suicide bombing just like the japs.
People in western countries wont take things seriously until a western country is taken over.
Not to mention that all the Jihazis can do is hide behind a bunch of women and children! Who's the coward now!
http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com
“There is no movement, no soldier, no police or the Afghan army,” he said. “We’re not going out and the Afghan police and army aren’t going out.”
Uh-Oh!! This is very bad! Hunkering down within the perimeter is not going to accomplish anything. Fixed fortifications have been no real obstacle for an aggressor since the invention of gunpowder.
The military that forfeits their ability to maneuver on the battlefield operates at a terrible disadvantage, which may be fatal.
Even if the British are successful in defending themselves in their "bunkers" and barracks (due to wide dispersal for example), the civilian population that has in any way helped them will be unprotected from reprisals. Few will survive, and you can bet that civilians will never help again.
I agree completely with those posters who complain that we have not been tough enough. I give credit to the soldiers and marines in the field, and to their commanders. But the political decisions seem to hamper them all the time.
One of my friends is an old soldier. He was an officer, a company commander of a combat engineering unit that landed in the first wave on Utah Beach on D-day, 1944. (He still has the "restricted" map of the beach with the various units' objectives marked with landing times, etc. Brings chills to look at it.) Eventually attached to Patton's army, he participated in the liberation of Germany. After the surrender, he was assigned to "police" about 20 square miles of Germany to put down the snipers and hard-core NAZI's that continued to fight, throw grenades, plant bombs, etc.
He ordered his men as follows: If you see three men talking on the sidewalk, shoot two and let the other one go. If a group congregates on the street, shoot some and let the others disperse. If somebody shoots at you from the woods, cut the trees down and burn the logs so nobody can hide there.
I think that is the kind of mental attitude that makes the peace and then keeps the peace. I know we can't "ban the burka", but that is only because it is a POLITICAL impossibility.
If we were to make it clear that if ONE soldier is killed or wounded by a burka clad anybody, then we will strip search at will and at random, then we would get this matter of religious persecution and disrespect of islam out in the open. We need to confront this crap, have the argument, and get it behind us. We need to have the courage to face these accusations outright with some asses on the line. We need to take the hit from the moral weaklings, acknowledge the unpleasantness of the decision, and then move on.
The American people will come around to the truth if it is presented to them fully and correctly. Our leaders' fault, as usual, is to underestimate the good sense of the American public when they are fully informed and aroused.
Some of this is happening. It is happening a lot more slowly than we would like, partly because we are "quick studies," but it is happening. Unfortunately, we have squandered a lot of good will, and a lot of momentum, in Iraq. But we are there, within driving distance of Iran, with a couple of divisions of combat-hardened troops.
We should have given the order long ago: We will treat your wounded and bury your dead, but if we find anyone out of uniform and armed, they will be treated as a spy, shot immediately, stripped of clothing, and thrown in the gutter for the dogs. If we are fired on from a mosque we will attack the mosque, kill all inhabitants, and destroy the mosque.
The muslims must feel themselves subdued.
This is called the sitting duck maneuver, designed to draw the bomber out and give them a chance to zero in on your pos instead of making them work at determining the timing or location of your random patrols. Someday and I hope that day doesn’t come too late, we are going to figure out we must kill or be killed. It is not enough to sit in the barracks until…until what? It’s safe to come out? How ridiculous does that sound? It is not enough to leaflet the enemy with instructions to abandon their equipment and walk away, then to have the AF sweep in and blast it apart. The enemy must be eliminated or as is said He’ll be back. Americans and Western nations have one choice, fight the enemy on their terms, giving no quarter (as the enemy does) and asking for none in return, or get ready for a lot of dying over here.
The British. Well, look at it this way. The Germans are better drinkers and better fighters, and even the Germans have been sissified since WW II.
That's because we have better beer :-) Just kidding.. The taste of beer is up to the taste buds of whomever drinks it, of course :-)
If they'd let those soldiers fight without ridiculous Rules of Engagement which imho are putting them in danger in the first place then there'd be no need for them to go hiding.
The MSM are in large part responsible for tying their hands in the fight and now they ridicule them for staying put??!!
Our own governments are the ones who are in hiding from the truth [about islam]. Our Allied troops are perfectly fine if you let them do their jobs. The german MSM is having a field day over some soldiers posing with a skull in Afghanistan. Big fooking deal!
The same MSM hasn't written a THING about the moosleems rioting in Paris and injuring French Police right now..
We need a new media!
I agree with "give me doughnuts" and "caroline" and am a little disappointed with Robert's suggestion that the British troops "aren't stern". These suicide bombers not only use civilians as cover, but have no qualms about killing the same civilians in order to kill the British who protect them. The Geneva Conventions mean nothing to these jihadis. The Japanese kamikaze at least had the integrity and honor to have insignia identifying themselves and gave the ships they rammed a fighting chance to shoot them down. But how do you fight someone hiding behind civilians unless you mow down the civilians they hide behind a la Dresden and Hiroshima? Rather than accuse the British of "hiding" and "cowardice", see them as making honorable, strategic adjustments to a dishonorable enemy that doesn't fight by any rules.
I find the tone of some of the posted comments a bit odd. It is easy to say "Man up, Nancy" while sitting in your comfy chair in front of your computer. It is probably quite a bit different to have to march down the village main street and wonder if the burqa-clad figure coming towards you has a pound of Semtax and five pounds of nails strapped around its waist.
Until you have been on such a patrol, how about giving the troops the benefit of the doubt?
Posted by: give me doughnuts
I, too am sitting in comfort in front of my computer. But that doesn't mean I ave to be silent either. There are way too many people who say I should be silent because of the color of my skin and/or my origin. And I say Hell NO!
I am all in favor of giving the troops the benefit of the doubt however. As far as I am concerned they can shoot anything in sight.
Regarding troops in bunkers; Ahmedinejad stated earlier this month (archives) that he is not afraid of the Navy sending ships to the Gulf, he gets worried when they leave. Sounds to me like he's figured out our conventional 'deterrent'.
Placing our land-based forces in isolated, hardened locations would put them in a position our adversary would worry about. If the forces needed to be employed, it could be done efficiently. And this steady trickle of good soldiers getting killed would end. The costs would go way down. The Kurds would welcome the military presence.
Keeping your power dry is strategic. It is not going into hiding.
germaninamerica,
You got that right. I say we set up a Roman Coliseum type of spectacle. You know Lions and Tigers and Bears. Then we can take all these traitors (after trial) and see how fast they can run and how high they can jump. It would be well worth the price of admission and we could even take the proceeds and donate it to the troops, get them whatever they need the most. With all the boring sports out there these days I am ready for a change.
honorable, strategic adjustments Posted by: yadayada.
Where does the hiding stop, back here in our basements? No one is accusing the troops of cowardice, although his superior might want to think about relieving who ever are in command/cut the orders. This is not a global popularity contest, it is us or them. I can see it now, our politicians, wackademics and media are going to lose us our rights our freedom and finally our lives. Two Hundred and Thirty years of moving forward in freedom, trying to make things better, all squandered in such a short time.
No, but neither is the response to launch a scorched-earth policy to protect oneselves from an unseen, unidentifiable enemy. I see the troops "hiding" from suicide bombers the same way WWI soldiers hid in bunkers and behind sandbags to protect themselves and live to fight another day. They are not running "back here for their basements". IMO, they're doing the strategically sensible thing under extremely difficult circumstances, even more difficult than the WWI bunker fighters....circumstances, as some alluded to, created by politics, media, and mostly by an enemy not fighting by the rules. How exactly does one fight suicide bombers hiding under burkhas if one is not allowed to even strip-search all burkha-wearing people? It makes no more sense to order soldiers to walk aimlessly amongst "burkha bombers" they're not allowed to touch, much less shoot, than it is to pack up and go home out of fear of them.
Maybe the coalition should consider donning burkhas of their own in response?
There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff
How dare you criticise brave men, America’s best (only real) allies who are fighting and dieing in some of the most hostile country in the world with such a cheap, I repeat CHEAP, remark. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Men of my husband’s old regiment have only just returned from there. These men and women deserve the utmost respect. Neither Afghanistan not the sandpit are picnics. There has been some very hard fighting which I have reported on elsewhere. If this defensive manoeuvre is considered necessary for the moment then so be it.
I see that other posters are also aware of the courage of the troops on the ground. I am glad of this.
I have criticised our government myself for its shortcomings. The economies made on equipment and supplies are reprehensible.
But I will not listen to slurs on the character of members of the armed forces. If anyone wishes to read about the courage and tenacity shown by members of the British and Commonwealth armed services reports are posted here, and here, and here, and here (which was an especially good mission), here, and here . And here.
That will do to be getting on with. Even more here for later.
There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff
You asshole - the british are quite right to avoid being sucide bombed its only common sense or do you suggest they go about and walk around town shaking hands with the freindly natives.
Fuck any reconstruction bulshit - stay in the barraks and venture out in armour with air support destroying ANY perceived threat - that should be the modus operandus - pacifying with force - its the only thing these peasants understand
I was talking about “us”,” here”, in our own basements. As in are we going to retreat until we are all hiding in our own basements? You got a small glimpse of what is to come on 9-11. If we keep playing games a city is going to disappear. WWI is a horrible example, the war that wiped out entire generations due to extremely poor strategies and leadership. I would prefer to avoid a repeat. I still hold to my belief, no infidels in jihazi land except temporarily. Attack, destroy and withdraw.
The lockdown follows the death of the first British serviceman to be killed by a suicide bomb in southern Afghanistan. Marine Gary Wright, 22, from Glasgow, a member of 45 Commando, died in Lashkar Gah 10 days ago when a suicide bomber blew himself up as a LAND ROVER passed.
Looks to like the Army have had a GUT FULL of being let down by the New Labour Government of the UK.
Read this,it may explain a few things:
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/
This looks more like it,built by B.A.E. The RG33L
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4640/388/1600/RG33L.jpg
Plus it doesn't help that injured troops have been returned to the UK for treatment and dumped in N.H.S. public wards where they have been abused by angry British muslims.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/10/nterr210.xml
Mr Mukadam, the principal of Leicester Islamic Academy, which recently has been awarded £15 million Government funding, said there was a lack of evidence to support claims that faith schools created division and segregation.
Wonder how many of these you could get for £15 million:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4640/388/1600/RG33L.jpg
"There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff"
There is nothing I could say about my feelings for this statement that hasn't already been expressed by Mistress Weatherwax in her post above, other than that I fully share her outrage at such mean spirited sentiment. What next Mr Spencer?. Shall you send our brave lads a white feather apiece?.
I have not posted here for some time, digusted at the continual, petty and mean-spirited Brit-bashing that goes on. Granny Weatherwax has drawn my attention to the latest.
Robert, you have reached a new low. This is a despicable post.
Robert can defend himself, but when he referred to the British as being made of sterner stuff, he was not referring to the soldiers. He was referring to the leadership - the leadership that would tell their troops to stay indoors rather than risk being killed by a suicide bomber. Some may say that is a sensible precaution, I say that is an embarrassment.
Ignorance about British civilians is now matched by ignorance about British soldiers.
Congratulations.
The disbelief was heightened as the picture of the assembled Taliban fighters appeared on an NBC news blog just two days after a suicide bomber killed six people at the funeral of the governor of Paktia province, who was assassinated by the Taliban.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/17/wafg17.xml
erm.
l think Patton's words about winning the war, you make the enemy die for their country. we don't know the conditions on the ground there in afganistan. l say let those zombies walk around with time bombs, some should go off on their own. when the time is right, the Brits we fight them at their chosing. armchair generals need to keep quiet.
Ok, so let me get this right Robert, you’re actually trying to criticize the British strategic response to active suicide bombers, but to get things going, you start by suggesting that the Royal Marines used to be made of sterner stuff? Dude, if you can’t differentiate between rules of engagement and the calibre of a fighting force, why do you think you’ll ever be taken seriously?
You wanna know why you’re marginalised Robert? It’s because you use loose journalistic license. This isn’t the first time you’ve tried to prove a point about strategy by suggesting coalition troops aren’t brave.
Now Robert, can you take it? Your site should be re-named ‘Jihad Watch…but don’t do anything about it’. There is a value in having a site that points out the Koranic teachings that motivate jihadists, and the actions of the jihad movement. But if you don’t also bring political action to bear on our governments, and attempt to radicalise the populous (all of them, not just the radicals on this site), then all you are is a spectator. You’ve had three years + running this site. A couple of books, a video and a few TV appearances do not a revolution make. I have previously compared you to those families that watched American Civil War Battles from the safety of surrounding hills. Now I’m saying that without a forum for political action, your site wastes more potential than it uses.
"There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff."
----
Agreed. The British used to be badasses, today everyone in Britain is politically correct.
Don't make the mistake of blaming the ordinary British soldier for the mistakes made by their commanders and by their politicians because these people are not the same. I know a few soldiers who want to get into the fight and know that if they were properly finded and with the right equipment they could do the job. They are just as unhappy about this as anybody else.
"There was a time when the British were made of sterner stuff."
Fortunatley Eliasalucard you are wrong about this. It is only the left who are PC, most people are not PC at all. I say what I think as and when I need to, it is only the leaders who are PC and are trying to force it onto us but talking to the ordinary person in the street then you are wrong I am glad to say.
hello americaningermay. I am asking for a forum on this site to allow like minded anti-Jihadists to discuss an active strategy. Like holding counter demonstrations against the Jihadist radicals that are infesting my country (UK) at the moment. I'm not criticizing Jihad Watch as some appeasement tactic, I want to find ways to bring people onto the streets (in a law abiding way) and to contribute to a political movement that works to remove / exterminate Jihadists from our midst.
"The British used to be badasses, today everyone in Britain is politically correct."
If this is to the level of debate on this site, it will rapidly lose credibility. I know some Americans are virulently anti-British, but couldn't they just forget George III when they post on this site? It does no good at all to provoke British posters and divert the debate into a slanging match on the level of the school playground. But I must say this sort of thing is only encouraged by blanket statements like "The British used to be made of sterner stuff".
Shoot first, ask questions later. If they blow up ten points for a direct hit, if not...too bad..
collateral damage! Happens in war.....not police actions. Westerners simply do not get it. These muslims want us dead! The world will not be a safer place untill our united troops can shoot for the balls.
To all - August 22 has posted the explanation to all of this above.
The British are obeying their political commanders - they are not 'scared' at all. They are setting up firecamps in the same stupid political way the Americans did in Da Nang and all the other crap holes in Viet Nam. Same thing.
Get the politicians out of the equation.
Robert
I think you should respond to some of the critisisms that have been leveled at you. In a general point you seem somewhat reticent to engage in ANY argument with the folks here - whats the matter are you above mixing it with the masses - it would seem so
? This sounds like Paris-maybe if we lock ourselves in the big bad crazies will leave us alone. Whoever is in charge of British operations in Afghanistan needs to be replaced rather than have his troops remain as sitting ducks. Either that or pull out altogether. What the hell is the point of sending troops anywhere if you don't let them wipe out the enemy?
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 29, 2006 09:27 PM
Haven't seen what is going on in France lately seams there is a quite war going on between the police and the mulsum 10 buses have been burned in the last 3 weeks and the French police are ending up in the hospital but, the left think they [French] have the answer?
MAYBE THE ANSWER FOR COWARDS AND LOSERS
At lest the Italians under Berlisconi had the balls to shoot at the thugs in Geonoa a few years back.
But the French have been busy building a wall around the mulsum city with-in a city well they really have to think about what will happen when the flu hits and the police and firefighters quit??
Seams Prodi is in big trouble and in only 5 mo's because the Itailans LOVE THEIR SHORT SKIRTS ON WOMEN!!!
But the French I am begianing to wonder if they have any men left??
Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER AMEN
PS
But I hear the British goverment is worried about globle warming??
Hell they can't even stop a hurricain and they think they can control the sun??
ROTFL!!
No wonder the Brits want to get ride of tony if you go to a fight go to win or stay home like the French
ROTFL!!
Although someone came to fight I hear that over 60 islamic terrorist are dead and that the ones who ran across the border got fried today???
So we can say more islamic terrorist dead today!!
Seams there was a bomb thrown at a scoccer game yesterday blew off the reporters hand But the game when on!!
The article came from the Timesonline not from Roberts’s mouth. In this battle it is sometimes necessary to write things that hurt. They are not written to insult but rather to call attention to what is going on. It is having the desired effect. We can pretend that all is going well, but it is not. We have a huge problem that we must confront as it happens. We cannot let the PC brass fight this war worrying about feelings. What about the feelings of those on the planes on 9-11? What would happen if for instance during the sniper attacks on the east coast everyone stayed home and safe, where would we be? I have friends that are involved in this battle, I have seen the faces of family who have lost someone, I will not shut up ever, until America is safe and the enemy is defeated. From the posts here I think we are along way from fighting the enemy as they should be fought. Sadly, more must die for us to maybe, finally, get it though our heads what is at stake. I am virulently pro British and say so often here. There are bashers of all countries here at times. Hey, al-kaida sez…launch an internet jihad at all popular anti-jihad websites. Hmmmm. This global struggle is not going to be easy and feelings will be hurt. We must get past the petty stuff or we will all go down together. You cannot let insults from sometimes unknown sources drive you from the task at hand. This is too important to let feelings get in the way. If you step up to this fight check your feelings at the door because the enemy is exploiting all our feelings. I have no sympathy for those who would allow monsters to decapitate young girls and boys, none. They are targeting our children! What is so hard about understanding that.
The Times, and the Telegraph are waging a bit of a campaign to get better equipment issued to service personel, and relieve them of certain domestic worries like an income tax problem that arose. In so much as a headline was repeated here, I believe that to be the intention of that headline.
I am virulently pro British and say so often here. Tgusa, I know that you are and I recall our conversation here some time ago about the merits of the Spitfire. Yours was one of the comments I had in mind when I mentioned thoses other posters aware of the personal courage of British troops.
Holing up in that situation is not hiding. Prudence is just as important as courage when fighting a war.
The British soldier has not changed. They are brave warriors and are known to win their wars.
It's often the case of the craven politicians whose PC bullsh*t are hampering the war effort.
Lions led by donkeys... that's the case of the British soldier and the politicians who control them.
Over the years, I have had the good fortune to meet, speak with (and drink with) a number of British soldiers. I am firmly convinced that man for man, they are one of the best trained, best led, and best motivated forces in the world. We can only hope that the politicians who are now micro-managing this war (shades of Vietnam) know how to wield this superb weapon.
The Times, and the Telegraph are waging a bit of a campaign to get better equipment issued to service personel.
I am not faulting your posting in any way Granny Weatherwax but just want to add that Dr Richard North at EU Referendum.blogspot.com was doing just that for quite a while before any of the MSM even caught onto what was happening.
The Times, and the Telegraph are waging a bit of a campaign to get better equipment issued to service personel.
I am not faulting your posting in any way Granny Weatherwax but just want to add that Dr Richard North at EU Referendum.blogspot.com was doing just that for quite a while before any of the MSM even caught on to what was happening.
To whom it may concern:
I apologize. I am sorry to have given the impression that I meant the British soldiers lacked courage. That was not my intention. I was indeed referring to the dhimmitude of the British government, not to the courage of the fighting personnel.
I will not retract and stand by my assessments, expressed elsewhere, about that British government. If that is "petty Brit-bashing," and represents a "low" in comparison to which this is a "new low," as "Interested" suggests, so be it.
As for this site being worthless because it does not suggest political action, I believe that the primary action that still needs to be done on the home front, even 5 years after 9/11, is to raise awareness. That is what I do. In any case, plans are afoot, now that we are on a somewhat stronger footing, to expand in the activist direction.
As for not being willing to "mix it up with the masses," that isn't the case. I didn't see this thread until Marisol drew it to my attention just now.
Cordially
Robert Spencer
Mr Spencer, thank you for returning to the thread and for making your apology for your remarks about British armed forces.
GW.
___________________________
British Bulldog, I hadn't visited the website you mentioned until I followed your link above but my husband reads some of the other forces and ex forces sites, and I agree that the MSM does come to this a little late.
From todays Telegraph.
Royal Marine Commandos are believed to have killed up to 10 Taliban fighters yesterday following a brief but ferocious battle in southern Afghanistan. The Marines were conducting a foot patrol six miles east of the town of Gereshk in the southern province of Helmand when they were ambushed by insurgents armed with 81mm mortars and automatic weapons. The attack provoked a fierce response by the commandos, who fired more than 2,000 rounds during the 25-minute battle. No Marines were injured.
It was the first time the Marines, who took over control of Forward Operating Base Price (FOB Price) from the Paras a month ago, had been involved in a sustained "contact" with the Taliban.
Ok Robert
You are still my main main
johnmac (aka the highlander)
that should have been " main man"
Likewise, apology accepted Robert. Thank you sir. I could hardly disagree that our government are oft a bunch of idiots but, like Granny Weatherwax, I am immensely supportive of our fighting lads and girls for I have always known their worth. While they defend my freedom, I shall ever defend their honour.
Actually, GW, the remarks were not about the British fighting forces. Hence the apology -- for giving cause for this misapprehension.
Robert Spencer
I appreciate your making the distinction. Thank you.
So we "come out of our basements here" and stop "playing games here" to do....what, exactly? Kill the terrorists in our midst? But who then, pray tell, are they? What does a suicide bomber look like here in the USA? How do I, mere civilian that I am, kill them before they kill me? I don't know and I don't think you do, either. Surely you don't advocate arresting/killing all Muslims everywhere to solve this. This is the same problem the British troops face in Afghanistan.
I totally agree with you that terrorists need to be eliminated. Let's just make sure we get the right people, is all I'm saying. But when the terrorists are indistinguishable from non-terrorist civilians, that's easier said than done.
Moreover, this battle is more ideological than anything. This part of the battle (the more critical part, IMO) is one I can fight. As much as I'd like to, I don't have the ability or surveillance resources to find and kill terrorists masquerading as innocent civilians in my city myself. But I can certainly challenge the ideology from which they operate and hopefully "shrink the ocean" they swim in by persuading those who rationalize terrorist behavior the errors of their thinking. And I have certainly "come out of my basement" these past years to do just that with great fervor, as I know you have.