Military lines up to back general on Iraq

The Scotsman

FROM the squaddies on the front line to the retired generals in their armchairs, the British military yesterday united in support of General Sir Richard Dannatt, the British Army chief, and his devastating analysis of the government's defence and foreign policies.

Gen Dannatt, the Chief of General Staff, has rocked Downing Street by publicly warning that unless Britain begins a major withdrawal from Iraq within the year, the overstretched British Army could end up "broken".

He also openly questioned whether it was still feasible to turn Iraq into a functioning democracy.

Both suggestions run directly contrary to repeated assurances by the government that the military is not overstretched and that Iraq remains on the path to peace and prosperity.

For an officer of Gen Dannatt's seniority to say such things in public is remarkable. But more remarkable still, his position and the unquestioned support of his men last night effectively forced Tony Blair to endorse the general's remarks.

"I agree with every word," the Prime Minister said, at the end of a day of intensive spin and attempted damage- control in the media.

Gen Dannatt stirred up a political storm with a newspaper interview published yesterday morning, in which he said that Britain should start withdrawing from Iraq "soon", and questioning the ambition of a democratic Iraq.

The immediate attention the interview attracted forced the government on to the defensive, with Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, putting pressure on Gen Dannatt to clarify his remarks in a round of early-morning broadcast interviews.

Gen Dannatt duly appeared to insist that he was not at odds with the government on withdrawal, but still spoke in uncompromising terms about the threat to Britain's military capabilities.

"I have got an army to look after ... I want an army in five years' time and ten years' time. Don't let's break it on this one. Let's keep an eye on time," he said. "Time is money and time is soldiers' lives."

As for making Iraq into a democratic "exemplar" for the Middle East, he again said it was better to aim for a less ambitious target - holding Iraq together as a "unitary state". But even that was only "possible", he said.

Retired officers yesterday queued up to endorse Gen Dannatt's remarks. Serving officers and soldiers, who are forbidden to speak openly to the media, used internet message sites to support their commander.

Last night, a straw poll on the Army Rumour Service website showed that 79 per cent of respondents thought the general was "absolutely right". None completely disagreed.

However, some politicians and officers questioned the constitutional propriety of a military chief apparently getting involved in politics.

But the force of Gen Dannatt's argument and its obvious resonance in the armed forces and with some segments of public opinion left the Prime Minister with no option but to agree. Mr Blair's endorsement of Gen Dannatt's remarks will only fuel the suspicion in some military circles that the army chief was playing a very canny game indeed, and actually trying to be helpful to the government.

Although the US army has said it is preparing to stay in Iraq until 2010, some senior British figures - including, it is rumoured, Gordon Brown, the Chancellor - are keen for a major UK withdrawal to begin next year, not least to free up troops for Afghanistan.

Indeed, the British Army only a week ago launched Operation Sinbad, a major "clean-up" of Basra aimed at preparing the southern city in order to hand it over to Iraqi forces in the spring.

Brigadier Ian Gardiner, a former Royal Marine, suggested there could have been some collusion with government. "We can speculate as to why and one possibility is that it was trailing a change of policy for the future. It is not impossible that it is part of an orchestrated campaign by government," Brig Gardiner said. "He would have known what he was doing. He's certainly not a fool or a loose cannon."