Dannatt's Army: Understrength. Overstretched. And fully behind

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Dannatt's Army: Understrength. Overstretched. And fully behind their General
British troops are fighting for their lives in Afghanistan. Those in Iraq are wondering when they can go home. But they all share their commander's view of a confused and chaotic mission. By Raymond Whitaker

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"We were continually taking fire - the bullets were literally millimetres away from our faces. Rockets were landing in the canal next to us, causing huge splashes; it had been about eight hours of intense fighting and I hadn't eaten yet.

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Stories like these, told by soldiers returning after the most bitter fighting the British army has seen in more than half a century, help to explain why the Chief of Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, publicly confronted the Government last week. At the same time as the 3 Para battle group was relating what it had been through in Helmand, British soldiers in southern Iraq were being shown on television, painting the walls of schools in Basra in a half-hearted "hearts and minds" campaign. It encapsulated the frustration Sir Richard and other senior officers feel at being entangled in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time, without the personnel or resources to succeed in either.

Though Sir Richard did not utter the word "overstretch" in his latest remarks, it was clearly implied. His outburst has been warmly welcomed by many soldiers, both serving and retired, who felt that his predecessors were too ready to accommodate a generation of New Labour politicians who know nothing of military sacrifice, yet are happy to throw forces at an ever-widening range of crises.

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Many of the troops on the ground in Iraq, and their commanders back home, believe that they are remaining there almost exclusively for political reasons. Their main role, in this view, is face-saving for the Iraqi government as well as their own, not to mention relations between London and Washington. This opinion was reinforced by news that the British army chief's comments had prompted a flurry of calls from the White House to Downing Street.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1873841.ece