Q&A: army chief on Iraq
Updated on 13 October 2006
British Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt wants the army to leave Iraq "sometime soon".
Q: What has the head of the British Army said?
The head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has written in today's Daily Mail that the British army should be withdrawn from Iraq "sometime soon".
He went on to comment that the British government's aim of creating a liberal democracy in Iraq was "naive" and would not be achieved.
In subsequent interviews with the media, General Sir Richard has stood by his words: "We need to keep on thinking about time, because time is against us, because time is money, time is particularly soldiers and soldiers' lives, and we can't go on forever."
He told Sky News: "We are going to see this thing through but we have got to get on with it; we can't be there for years and years."
Q. Why are his remarks so extraordinary?
Because they appear to show the head of the British Army contradicting the position of the British (and American) governments on the role of coalition forces in Iraq.
Addressing the Labour conference last month, Tony Blair said: "If we retreat now, hand Iraq over to al-Qaida and sectarian death squads and Afghanistan back to al-Qaida and the Taliban, we won't be safer - we will be committing a craven act of surrender that will put our future security in the deepest peril."
On 21 September 2005 the then defence secretary, John Reid, stated that: "Our plan remains exactly the same, and that is to stay in Iraq until such time as the democratically-elected government has developed sufficient forces to counter terrorism and to preserve the security of democracy in Iraq."
Today a Downing Street spokesperson repeated the official mantra: "It's important that people remember that we are in Iraq at the express wish of the democratically elected Iraqi government, to support them under the mandate of a UN resolution."
Q. Why has he made his remarks now?
One theory has it that Sir Richard spoke up when he did to repay a favour to the Daily Mail, who spearheaded his successful campaign for a tax-free bonus for British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The fact is that General Sir Richard has a reputation for being outspoken.
He took over from General Mike Jackson as army chief of staff in August of this year. Within two weeks of taking up his appointment he called on other Nato countries to make a larger contribution to the effort in Afghanistan.
He told The Guardian that the British army was "running hot". When asked if the army could cope with the extent of its commitments, he replied "Can we cope? I pause. I say 'Just'."
Q. How have people reacted to his words?
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox has called on the government to make clear whether there has been any change of policy: "We need urgent clarification now from ministers about whether there has been any change in the government's position."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said that the government had "an overwhelming obligation to listen to what he has to say".
Anti-war campaigners have seized on General Sir Richard's comments. Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed in Iraq two years ago, commented: "I'm glad someone has finally said something."
Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was murdered by a gang of Iraq men in 2003, said he agreed "100 per cent" with Sir Richard's comments.
Reponses on the British Army Rumour Service website are almost universally in support of the general's words. He are a few examples:
"He's got a hell of a pair of moral balls on him, I'll give him that! I imagine B'liar is in a bit of a cold sweat/hot rage now."
"If he gets the sack, watch out for fireworks - if he has had the balls to stand up for us, we should do the same."
"I think even Teflon Tony is going to find it difficult to weasel his way out of this. If Sir Richard goes it's time for a coup."
Related links
View from the troops
More iraq reports
