Brits out of Iraq, Next year

Well it is official the British goverment after badly underfunding our troops for the past number of years are going to pull them out of Iraq. We shall still be in Afghanistan though and now hopefully they will get on with the long overdue troop requiping. What I want to know is how can this goverment hold it's head up and say well we did a very good job when troops died due to lack of proper equipment!! Time after time we had to rely on hard pressed American troops to get us out of jams that we shoudnt have been in the first place.
No one can blame the guy's on the ground they have done the best they can with limited resorces and have paid with there lives I can though and do blame those in whitehall and parliment for the lack of political comitment to the troops, I do also blame certain members of the officer corp who think status is more important than doing the job.

Here is a report from the Daily Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...how-Army-was-handicapped-by-early-errors.html

Sorry about the rant

 

Thanks Brits, even in an unpopular war, especially in your country, you stuck by the USA. We have no doubts about our true allies, and they sure do not speak Froggy.

 

I have no problems with the UK leaving Iraq. Thanks to them for standing with us. I was stationed with some Brits once. Nice folks.

 

I dont have a problem with us pulling out either but I do have a major problem with a goverment that sends troops into harms way without the proper equipment and then crows about it been a victory and how well our boys did. They cant even give the injured decent compensation!! then they are going to send the same troops of into Afghanistan again ill equip

 

Sounds too damn familiar actually.

I applaud ANY soldier be they British, American or any "flavor. Why? - because they are doing what they believe in and willing to give up their lives for it.

They are all heros.

As for the governments that support them. They are generally NOT heros in any form. They are politicians.
Dead soldiers are nothing but statistics that help the political ratings in so many cases. The only lives they have any REAL concern for are their own.

 

You beat me to it.

 

Any Navy that allows vodka on board is ok with me. Was invited to party with some Brit sailors on a joint mission once. They have a bar on ship. How cool is that? De, those soldiers died from mis-information not from lack of equipment.

 

Nope it realy was lack of equipment including simple things like not enough flak jackets, or having to buy there own desert boots as those supplied by the MOD were sub standard, walking round Basra without been allowed to wear helmets because the Brass had to show you Americans that we knew how to handle the natives and had balls, going on recon in open jeeps.
Tell you how bad it was the Brass and politicians made a deal with the local militias in Basra you stop shooting at us and we will let you take over!! and then to have the Iraq army with American assistance run opperation Charge of the Knights without telling us because they did not trust the British Brass or Downing St
Do you know how many British troops they deployed in Basra at the start of opperations? 450!! yes that many to take over a bloody city

Again sorry about the rant but it makes me so mad LOL

 

De Orc,

Rant all you want. 450 soldiers?

Just looked Basra up for population. About a million. I'd say the odds were not too good especially when it's not your home field.
Sounds more like a suicide mission to me.

 

US combat troops will be out of Iraq next year, and all of our forces will be out by 2011. At least that's what the President and our treaty with Iraq says.

 

Yeah, we will see how long it takes before they have to clobber the place again.

 

And then we will be al alone in that fight, huh. No Brits then. Will they then become as unpopular as the French? If not; why not? So they stood by us in the 1st unprovoked war. Chances are they wont in the second. Will your..''Gee we are all grateful''... change to ''Down with the British''? And what if France allys itself with us in the 2nd one. Will they get a 'Sorry about the Victory Fries thing, mon ami.''? Too much. The British are doing what France did before the start of it. Its almost like they knew better. OUT is OUT. I think the French leaned something in Vietnam that the US did not. When youre not wanted in a place; no amount of soldiers or bombs is going to change that.

 

Craig who says no Brits? we are still in Afghanistan, just sending more troops there as we speak and lost two to IRA killers on saterday just prior to there leaving barracks in Northen Ireland, they were murderd while collecting pizzas from some delivery guys.
So do you want to expound on what us Brits are doing like the French? other than loosing the lives of our servicemen?
Just in case you havnt noticed we are the only country in western europe who have stood by you practicaly continualy since WWII

 

I thought this post was about Iraq. And the fact that the British are leaving that country. if it is and they are, then The French never went there. Which is to say they are not there. And soon that will be said of the British. IRA and al-queida are two differnt groups. Or do they shop at the same terrorist weapons warehouse of big savings? Is there an annual convention of terror in Vegas, where they all meet and greet? I thought you guys settled the IRA thing a few years ago. I would say abandoning the efforts of the US in Iraq. You call it withdrawing.

 

Craig just in case you have not noticed American troops are going to be leaving as well, now you said we woudnt support you if there was a next time and I asked how you came to that conclussion.
As for links between the IRA and Arab terrorists they have been there for many many years, Gadaffi in Lybia supported the IRA along with Palistiian groups, IRA men trained in Arab countries and this is the 1st killing of British soldiers in 12 years.
Even Jerry Adams called for the comunity to help hunt down the killers also as I said they were hours away from leaving for Hellman province, bit of a coincidence perhaps?
Maybe you want to make light about the murder of two British Soldiers who were going to support American efforts in Afghanistan, that is of course your perogative but if that is the case then it says a lot about you.

 

Let us not draw comparisons betwixt the French and the British.

Can someone cite a war that the French won? They have been getting their derrieres plonked since the mid 18th century.

 

There were lots of Americans in the E. Coast of the USA that were tacitly supporting the IRA and Sinn Fein during the day. Think Boston in the 1970s and you will get the picture.

 

Unfortunatly this is what happens when you look at history through lavender tinted specs LOL just look at how many thought the film Braveheart was acurate

 

It did influence the vote for devolution in Scotland though. So now they have a useless parliament that accomplished little more than a billion pound building.

 

If you think winning wars make a country. Oh well. So what I am reading is that the British are leaving because the US is leaving. So they really didnt believe in the cause, they were just ''our buddies''. You seem to be taking this personally. Where was your voice when a pregnant marine was murdered over here last year? Hey I dont give a crap about Iraq. But just think of how many British soldiers would be alive today if Blair hadnt sucked up to Bush so much.