British army media ineptitude in Afghanistan

I just roll my eyes these days when I see stories about how clever the British are in comparison to the Yanks, you know, so much more subtle and flexible and thoughtful. All that softly, softly, catchy monkey bullshit. We got plenty of that fed to us in Iraq, when the truth is the British completely fucked up in Basra and the south of the country. Their "softly, softly" approach effectively handed Basra into the control of armed gangs of Shi'ite militants. It took the Americans to have to come down and fix up the mess, along with the Iraqis. The Iraqi government basically didn't even bother to discuss it with the British, (still the notional Coalition authority in the region). They just announced that they and the Americans were coming. Don't get me wrong. The British soldier is second to none. But it appears we have history repeating itself and they are yet again badly led. A guess what? Isn't it a very 21st Century type of incompetence, chock a block full of media spin merchants doing everything they can to cover it all up. Michael Yon details a run in with them and the sudden discontinuation of his embed with the 2 Rifles. It’s hard to forget the Major’s cutting insults at the soldier who was training in the heat as a commendable young man.  Any combat troop, whether they are pilots, PJs, sailors, special operations, or my favorite—the infantry—should never be the subject of jokes or derision from any military leader of any rank.  The infantry soldiers are out there living like animals, taking bullets and getting blown up and, all while the Major sits back in his comfortable tent, playing on Facebook and watching The Simpsons. Those combat troops, British and American, are my family. That Major and his ilk should not cut fun of them.

Posted via email from Garth's posterous