American Military in Iraq
I stumbled across the following posting today which compares the British military approach taken in Iraq with the American.
While the post is nearly three years old it is well worth reading as it sheds light as to why the war in Iraq was lost long ago.
The heavy handed tactics used by American forces have made far more enemies than friends, not only in Iraq, but throughout the world.
For every insurgent killed there are probably ten or more ready to seek revenge and to take their place.
Americans could learn much from their British counterparts. The British Empire may be no more but the rich British tradition of professionalism in the military lives on.
One should note that the British were good administrators of their empire as well as good warriors. The British system of record keeping, of developing infrastructure, and of government organization lives on in many countries once part of the empire.
“The British military tends to have far more open dealings with the local population than the Americans,” said Christopher Bellamy, professor of military science at Cranfield University. “While the British rely more on local intelligence to warn them of trouble in advance, US forces have a ’stand-off’ posture, which means trouble tends to erupt without warning. As a result they need to deliver enormous amounts of firepower to overcome it.”
