[Media-watch] Leaked UK Eyes Only report says Gov delay put Black Watch at Risk in Iraq - Telegraph - 19/12/2004

[Julie-ann Davies]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/19/nirq19.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/12/19/ixnewstop.html


Army report says Government delay put the Black Watch at risk in Iraq
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 19/12/2004)

A top level Army report has revealed that Black Watch soldiers were sent on 
their highly controversial mission into Iraq's "Triangle of Death" unable to 
protect themselves properly from suicide bombers because of ministerial 
delays.

The document, which is marked "Secret UK Eyes Only", states that a "delay" 
by the Government on whether or not to send the troops meant that "there was 
insufficient time [for the regiment] to assess and then practise appropriate 
tactics, techniques and procedures".



The report was leaked to The Telegraph after General Sir Michael Walker, the 
chief of the defence staff, and Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, appeared 
to blame the media for the deaths of the Black Watch soldiers.

In an interview with BBC2's Newsnight, Gen Walker, said: "I'm certain that 
the media coverage would have made it easier for anybody who wanted to 
conduct those attacks to do so."

That statement was followed last Sunday by Mr Hoon on BBC1's Politics Show, 
when he said: "I don't believe that the media necessarily helped in 
protecting those lives."

The Telegraph has learnt that the delay was caused by "concerns" at Cabinet 
level that the deployment of the Black Watch to such a dangerous area would 
lead to "presentational difficulties" as the regiment was originally due to 
return home before Christmas and then faced being disbanded or amalgamated.



The report, which has been seen by this newspaper, reveals that the Black 
Watch was warned on October 7 that it might be taking part in the operation 
but the regiment had to wait another 12 days before it was given permission 
to begin planning and training for the mission, which began on November 3 
and ended on December 4.

Four members of the regiment were killed by insurgents during the operation. 
Sgt Stuart Gray, 32, Pte Paul Lowe, 19 and Pte Scott McArdle, 22, in 
addition to their Iraqi interpreter (who cannot be named for fear that his 
family will become a terrorist target) died when they were blown up by a 
suicide bomber.

Pte Pita Tukutukawaqa, a Fijian serving with regiment, was killed by a 
roadside bomb. A fifth soldier died in a road accident.

Immediately after the attacks, Lt Col James Cowan, the Black Watch's 
commanding officer, ordered his troops to adopt new anti-ambush tactics to 
counter the threat posed by insurgent suicide bombers. The Black Watch was 
selected for the operation following a formal written request by a United 
Staes military commander to Major Gen Bill Rollo, the commander of British 
troops in southern Iraq, because, as the reserve force, they were the only 
troops available.

The Black Watch troops were based in Camp Dogwood, about 25 miles south-west 
of Baghdad, and were used to cut-off so-called "terrorist rat-runs" into and 
out of the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, which was about to be attacked 
by American forces.

The Telegraph has been told by a senior defence official that the military 
regarded the operation as being "relatively straightforward" and that it 
should be undertaken.

He added: "A risk assessment was conducted and it was agreed that the 
mission should go ahead. The delays began to kick in at the ministerial 
level. The Government was sensitive to the adverse publicity this operation 
would attract because the Black Watch would need to extend its stay in Iraq 
and was facing disbandment or amalgamation when it returned to the UK. That 
fear added to the delay because the Government needed to be convinced that 
the Black Watch were the right unit, which took time. As far as the Army 
were concerned, though, they were the only option."

The report, which was written during the operation and is dated 17 November, 
states: "The delay in a decision for the redeployment of 1st Battalion Black 
Watch Battle Group had implications to the Battalion's preparation for a 
significantly more demanding operational environment, even though the 
Battalion had been on operations for three months as the Multinational 
division south-east divisional reserve. There was insufficient time to 
assess and then practise appropriate tactics training and procedures. These 
had to be developed as the operation progressed."

The document was produced by a team of officers from the Army's Land Warfare 
Centre at the behest of the Chief of Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint 
Headquarters in Northwood, Middlesex, so that senior officers could assess 
the tactics being used by British troops in the wake of the deaths of the 
Black Watch soldiers.

The report praises the regiment for adapting quickly to the "high tempo of 
threat", but reveals that Lt Col Cowan was concerned that he was forced to 
deploy his troops with a "limited" intelligence assessment of the threat 
they faced. It states that no coalition forces had been in the area for 30 
days prior to the start of the operation and that because of this "very 
little was known about the possible structures and tactics of anti-Iraqi 
forces". The report adds: "There were no Iraqi Security Forces available to 
support the battle group. Most had withdrawn as a result of intimidation."

The report also states that Lt Col Cowan had informed senior officers that 
the "espionage threat" from Iraqi spies was "high" and that they had managed 
to infiltrate US military compounds and were "quick to learn and adapt their 
tactics accordingly".

The report also added that there were "implications" when placing British 
troops under the command of US forces which "should not be underestimated" 
because of communication difficulties.

An MoD spokesman said: "We don't comment on leaked reports."