# Peacekeeping Quote of the Day (Welsh Guards Style)



## Kirkhill (2 Feb 2005)

> "If they shoot at us they know we are going to kill them. They don't like to mess with that."


   Welsh Guardsman

On the other hand



> "The Americans depend on power, the British are good at politics. That is important as otherwise people not only fear but hate them. And that would not be good news for not only you but us here."


   Iraqi Governor

Note: I am not quoting this to take a swing at the Yanks.   The point is that success is built on War-Fighting Ability (the controlled application of lethal force) and Politics.   Combined.   I am sure our Clausewitzians would approve although our Foreign Affairs types might be bothered.




Guards suffer the catapult gangs with good humour 
By Oliver Poole
(Filed: 03/02/2005)

Children with catapults lurk at most street corners in Maysan province, the most lawless and by far the most dangerous of the four in Iraq under British control.

   

Their idea of fun is to ambush patrolling soldiers by hitting one of the guardsmen providing cover through the top hatch of their armoured Land Rovers. 

In built-up areas, a rain of bricks and stones can pelt down. The soldiers have glass visors on their helmets to protect them. But most have their own story of the one that got through and a number have the scars on their cheeks to prove it.

Yet few are complaining. Last summer the ordnance being directed at British troops was far more deadly.

Then a trip into a city such as the state capital, Amarah, would bring with it gunfire as Shia militants, whipped up by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, rose up across the south.

The British HQ in the city was mortared and rocketed almost every day for three weeks. The unit deployed to maintain control, the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, suffered 48 wounded and two fatalities throughout the province as it was attacked 658 times in seven months.

Rockets are still occasionally fired at the British main camp near the city but, unlike its predecessor, the troop presently in the province, a 1,000-strong battle group of the Welsh Guards, has not had a single soldier wounded.

Part of the reason for that, officers say, is that the fighting in the summer left the local militia with a "bloody nose". "They know how much damage we can do to them and, not surprisingly, they are not so keen on another reminder," said one senior officer.

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, the British approach shown to the world was one of soldiers in soft berets riding bicycles through the streets of Basra in an attempt to avoid adopting an antagonistic posture.

The lesson of last summer was that by stepping too far back they risked leaving a void that the militia attempted to fill, intelligence experts say.

In Maysan every soldier on patrol wears a helmet and bullet-proof vest and any exchanges of firepower are confronted and suppressed. Patrols - both on foot and in vehicles - occur throughout the area to make their presence highly visible.

"I don't like the term softly-softly," said Lt Col Ben Bathurst, 40, the Welsh Guards' commanding officer. "Our men are prepared any day to go into full war-fighting mode. Anyone taking us on can expect us to bear down on them with overwhelming force. Here strength is respected."

One of his guardsmen, Barry Burnett, 19, summarised operating orders as:"If they shoot at us they know we are going to kill them. They don't like to mess with that."   But, officers say, the iron fist is still accompanied by the velvet glove to try to ensure that the knowledge of British military power is accompanied by an understanding of what they are trying to achieve - and, most importantly, that this includes their eventual departure.

Lt Col Bathurst, a direct descendant of Earl Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time of Waterloo, embarked on a whirlwind of diplomacy on his arrival in October in which he managed to win the trust of rebels, including Sadr's Mahdi army, and broker a suspension in hostilities.

Just as importantly, he worked hard to break down the mistrust between local government officials and the fledgling Iraqi security forces, both police and army, who in some areas were more prone to fire at each other than maintain control.

"Officers such as Colonel Ben deal with us in a way the Americans do not," said Riyadh Mahood, the governor of Maysan.

"The Americans depend on power, the British are good at politics. That is important as otherwise people not only fear but hate them. And that would not be good news for not only you but us here."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/03/wirq03.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/02/03/ixworld.html


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## tomahawk6 (2 Feb 2005)

Let me provide a story or two as comparison.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=local&Story=6817428

 and an armytimes story that is a subscriber article.

Where tanks don't tread
7th Cav soldiers often must travel in smaller vehicles or on foot

By Gordon Trowbridge
Times staff writer 


BAGHDAD â â€ The armor school courses at Fort Knox hadn't quite covered the scene unfolding before 2nd Lt. Toby Faber.

As his three-Humvee convoy rolled through a driving rain, patrolling a street in southwest Baghdad, the lead vehicle spied an Iraqi man on the right side of the road, waving frantically to the soldiers with his left hand while holding, in his right, what looked like the sheared-off bumper of a minibus.

Faber, a tank platoon leader in Apache Company, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry, got out of his Humvee and, after several moments, bridged the language barrier to piece together the man's story.

Thieves â â€ â Å“Ali Babaâ ? in the shorthand that has developed between Iraqis and U.S. troops â â€ had rammed his car, threatened him with guns and a hand grenade and forced him onto the street. The bumper of the thieves' bus, dislodged in the collision, was all they had left behind.

A moment later, the soldiers were marching behind the man, who was still carrying the evidence in one hand as he led them several blocks to where the thieves had left the vehicle, after either crashing it again or stealing whatever items they'd wanted.

â Å“Oh yeah. It was armored vehicle identification, followed by car theft,â ? Faber joked of the Fort Knox syllabus he'd finished just months before.

Once again, the cavalry soldiers of 1-7 found themselves in a situation hardly envisioned for their unit, a collection of massive M1A2 Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles built to smash enemy lines and destroy hostile formations with speed and firepower.

But much of the time, even tankers such as Faber's platoon ride in Humvees or even walk foot patrols. When aboard their 70-ton tanks, they're often patrolling dangerous stretches of the city's Highway 8, watching over key intersections or providing cover and intimidating presence during late-night raids against suspected insurgent hideouts.

Squadron commander Lt. Col. William Salter acknowledges that Baghdad is hardly a traditional cavalry mission. But he argues the unit's armor â â€ which some might see as a hindrance in an urban setting â â€ has been vital.

â Å“Nobody is more glad that we brought [armored vehicles] than me and my soldiers,â ? Salter said. â Å“They've proven exceptionally well-suited to many missions.â ?

Salter points to Highway 8 â â€ Main Supply Route Irish to the U.S. military â â€ as a spot where armor has proved vital. 

The highway connects Baghdad with the Shiite-dominated areas of southern Iraq, running south all the way to the Kuwaiti border. Its most famous stretch curves west from downtown to Baghdad International Airport â â€ the â Å“airport roadâ ? closed off and on by insurgent attacks â â€ a stretch 1-7 patrolled for much of its time here. Even farther south, where the highway enters Baghdad, the squadron's patrols have dealt with numerous roadside bombs.

â Å“We've had very few casualties due to [improvised explosive devices],â ? Salter said. â Å“A tank or a Bradley is very survivable in most cases.â ?

The troops of Faber's four-tank platoon agreed But they also said parts of their sector demand the smaller Humvees, much more nimble than an Abrams on narrow neighborhood streets.

â Å“I've become a much better driver,â ? Spc. Paul Froschauer, 25, of Cincinnati, said, smiling at the thought of piloting the M1A2 through tight spaces. But, he said, there are some places 70 tons of metal just won't fit.

The cavalry troops knew that coming in â â€ and if they didn't, months of pre-deployment training in conducting dismounted patrols and clearing houses drilled home the point.

Froschauer and Sgt. Jeff Anderson, 22, of Silver City, N.M., said they've enjoyed the chance to walk among and talk to local residents â â€ even if it means they're removed from the comfort of their armor.

â Å“Sure, we've had to learn how to do some of the dismounted, infantry-related tasks,â ? Salter said. â Å“But most of those we trained on before we came over here. We try in the cav to encourage flexibility, initiative and empowerment at the lower levels, and that has served us well here.â ? 

Gordon Trowbridge can be reached at trowbridge@atpco.com. 	
IP Logged


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## pbi (3 Feb 2005)

I'm with tomahawk6 here, 100% (Well...how about _that_...?) My experience here in Afgh tells me that the US Infantry soldiers deployed here(Army, ARNG and USMC, as well as Gunners dismounted) get the distinction, and get it well. Let's get off some of these smug, outdated ideas about US soldiers.  We are going to be surprised, I think, when we realize how much they have learned and adapted. Cheers.


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## Big Bad John (3 Feb 2005)

T


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## Kirkhill (3 Feb 2005)

As I stipulated I was NOT taking a slam at the Americans.  

My intended observation was that the Canadian Public's and Politicians view of Peacekeeping as Boy Scouts with guns couldn't be more at odds with the Guardsman's obvious willingness to use lethal force if the situation demands it.  At the same time the Governor's point that that power has to be tempered with a sense of the political situation so that fear and respect don't become fear and hate.

There is no smugness here.  I have no doubt that the Americans have settled into the job despite it being a jump from both the war they trained for and it being a war that many in their Chain of Command tried to spare them for many years.

Many reports from the field (Stryker Brigade News, Chrenkoff, Army Times, Daily Telegraph amongst others) supply adequate evidence.  

If my posting was taken as offensive I apologise.  But just to clarify, the information was aimed at those that believe in the Boy Scouts school of peacekeeping.  The gist of the article is that the Welshmen have managed to keep the lid on the area but only by having the support of a full battlegroup that is willing to and allowed to fight.  Having demonstrated that they can now afford to "make nice" with the neighbours.

Cheers.


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## Big Bad John (3 Feb 2005)

Y


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## Kirkhill (3 Feb 2005)

No worries.


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## pbi (4 Feb 2005)

> The gist of the article is that the Welshmen have managed to keep the lid on the area but only by having the support of a full battlegroup that is willing to and allowed to fight.  Having demonstrated that they can now afford to "make nice" with the neighbours.



And that, IMHO, is exactly how it should be done. The force has to earn respect, then trust. If they can do that, then IMHO they will be pulling the trigger a lot less. But, in order to earn it, they must show that they do not shrink from any confrontation, and will use deadly force when it is needed.

Cheers.


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