Italians pay 'protection' to Taliban: You say pizzo and I say pizza

Back in the 5th century the Romans regularly bought off their enemies by making hefty tribute payments in exchange for an agreement not to attack the Empire - a kind of early protection racket. In 447 alone they forked out 6,000lbs in gold to pay off the Huns and agreed to make annual instalments of 2,000lbs from then on. When the Romans missed the 451 payment, Attila lead his army across the border and devastated the cities of northern Gaul.

If a report in today's Times is correct, then it would seem that the Italians have been taking a lesson from their history books and have again been paying tribute to their adversaries - this time to the Taliban.

A local Taliban commander confirmed that a deal was struck last year so that Italian forces in the Sarobi area, east of Kabul, would not be attacked by local insurgents if the Italians paid over a load of cash.

Unfortunately when the Italians handed the area over to the French they omitted to tell them about the local protection racket - that or when the Italians said "pizzo" the French thought they had said "pizza".

Because the district had been so quiet prior to their arrival, the French had assumed that they had picked a nice peaceful area to look after. It was not until 10 of their soldiers were tragically killed last August that they realised all was not as it seemed.

Nato spokesman General Eric Tremblay said he was "not aware" of Italy having paid off Taliban militants. "If it does go on, it's the Afghan government (that does it) rather than international forces."


The Times: Italians bribed the Taleban all over Afghanistan, say officials

Philip Laing urinates on war memorial

Philip Laing, a Sheffield college student, thought it would be funny to urinate on the city's war memorial and on the poppy wreaths placed there in honour of the servicemen and women who had given their lives in the service of their country.

This wonderful example of today's 'intelligentsia' and his friends no doubt thought it a great laugh to desecrate a war memorial and to piss on those who had died for our freedoms. They probably even congratulated themselves on the publicity that resulted from this disgusting behaviour. His parents more than likely think it all a laugh as well.

Of course the college authorities won't have the guts to do anything about it; the department of education won't kick him off his course; nor naturally will the police be bothered to do anything either - like giving him a criminal record.

No, this little prick will look forward to three years on his "sports technology" (no surprise there then) course as a celebrity amongst his fellow students.

The Mail: Shame of drunken student caught urinating on war memorial during 'Carnage' mass pub crawl

MoD wins its compensation appeal: 'a victory for bureaucracy over bravery'

Defence Secretary Ainsworth and senior civil servants at the MoD must be feeling very smug and self-satisfied today because the Court of Appeal has upheld their claim against the awards made by the compensation tribunal to two injured British soldiers.

When the tribunal increased the basic compensation awarded to Corporal Anthony Duncan and Royal Marine Matthew McWilliams because both men had suffered further health problems as a result of their injuries, the MoD took the case to the High Court to get the increases revoked.

The High Court upheld the awards amde to the soldeirs but the MoD was determined to claw back the compensation and doggedly pursued the case to the Court of Appeal.

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Ministers and MPs continue to rip off the taxpayers by cynically manipulating their expenses (particularly those relating to 'second homes').

Civil servants at the MoD continue to get massive annual bonuses or receive hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation for a strained thumb or 'work-related stress'.

Meanwhile two soldiers may have to repay compensation awarded to them for their injuries.

The Mail: Injured servicemen face having compensation slashed after MoD wins court battle
BBC: Smith apology for expenses claims

Al Qaeda goes nuclear just as MoD cuts 900 guards

Two articles appeared in today's newspapers which, when read together, make for uncomfortable reading.

In the article 'Big Bang scientist admits plotting Al Qaeda atrocity', the Daily Mail reports that French police have uncovered a terror plot by an eminent Algerian nuclear physicist currently working on the CERN nuclear research euro-project. The scientist

is alledged to have been planning to use his expertise to set off a nuclear explosion - possibly in the UK. A British security source said: "It appears that Al Qaeda are now deliberately recruiting extremely intelligent people who have both the knowledge and the resources to potentially create a nuclear bomb or identify nuclear targets".

Under the headline 'Skint MoD will axe 900 nuke base cops', today's Sun reports that the MoD is considering a "suicide" mission: slashing the military police force which guards the UK's nuclear installations. A defence source is reported to have said: ""These guys guard nuke depots and weapons silos round the clock as well as intelligence units, docks and training facilities - every sensitive military building in Britain. They also watch over barracks housing the loved ones of troops fighting on the front-line"

So there you have it: just as Al Qaeda is planning to use weapons of mass destruction, the MoD is planning to leave the doors to the UK's nuclear installations unlocked for them.

We can all sleep safely with labour!

The Mail: Big Bang scientist 'admits plotting Al Qaeda atrocity'
The Sun: Skint MoD will axe 900 nuke base cops

General Dannatt to advise Cameron's War Cabinet

That General Dannatt will be the military advisor to the next government is welcome news. Having a former Chief of the General Staff working on their team will mean that the government will be able to call directly on a vast amount of experience.

David Cameron has already promised that, with Britain at war, one of the first things he'll do will be to set up a War Cabinet "from minute one, hour one, day one that I walk through the door of Downing Street".

The appointment of The General will mean that someone who speaks for the soldiers on the ground will be part of that War Cabinet and in a position to influence policy. It may also mean that resources will be redirected away from grandiose projects to where they are most needed: on the frontline in Afghanistan.

For months labour ministers and MoD mandarins have been conspiring to undermine General Dannatt. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that senior labour figures should now be threatening to impose a £40,000 fine on General Dannatt in revenge for his accepting a post with the Tories.

5,000 motorcyclists Ride To The Wall

For the second year motorcyclists from across the UK converged on the National Arboretum yesterday to pay their respects to the servicemen and women who have been killed in the service of their country.

5,000 bikers made the Ride To The Wall 2 this year not only to honour the dead but also to raise funds for the maintenance of the memorial - organisers hope to exceed last year's total of £10,300.

Dozens of veterans with military medals pinned on to their riding leathers and a major general in uniform were among those at a service of remembrance.

The UK event is similar to the annual 'Rolling Thunder Ride For Freedom' motorcycle rally which takes place over the US Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC. This year as many as half a million veterans and bikers rolled down Pennsylvania Avenue in tribute to US war heroes.

In only its second year the number of bikers who took part in the UK event this year far exceeded the expectations of the organisers.

Well done, Bikers of Britain!

BBC: Bikers pay respects to the fallen
Ride To The Wall

TA closed down for six months

The labour clique which at the moment runs the country has in its wisdom decided to save twenty million quid by closing down the Territorial Army.

Not satisfied with having slashed the numbers in the TA from 57,000 to 19,000, Brown and his cronies have now called a halt to all TA training for the next six months - that's drill-hall instruction, weekend exercises and all other raining associated with the TA.

This is bound to have an impact on operations in Afghanistan as hundreds of TA soldiers routinely serve on the frontline.

The news will go down really well with the guys who give up their time to serve their country; I'm sure it's just what they wanted to hear. It's certain to encourage more volunteers to join up.

So much for "One Army".

Nice one Gordon.

BBC: Cuts force TA to cease training

A Fox in the hen house

Tory shadow defence minister Liam Fox has said that he is determined to hold a Strategic Defence Review as soon as he is sat behind his desk at the MoD.

He also ominously says that what will govern the Review will be “the budgetary constraints within which we will have to operate”.

We know what that means: stringent cuts in the defence budget can be expected soon after a Tory government is installed.

Mr Fox has already promised a cull of civilian personnel in the MoD along with vague references to other "efficiency savings". But we've heard all this many times before; we know empirically that the defence bureaucracy always seems to escape the knife.

No, it will be frontline services - in the true sense of the word - which will again have to suffer the deepest cuts and the pressure will be on the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force to surrender large chunks of their budgets in favour of the Army.

Although the Army has been doing most of the fighting, bearing the brunt of the consequences of recent foreign policy initiatives, it has actually been on the receiving end of only 10% of the total spending on military equipment (based on actual and planned spending between 2003-18).

When it comes to new equipment it is the RN and RAF which get the lion share with £billions allocated to aspirational projects (Future Aircraft Carriers, SSBN nuclear subs, Eurofighter Typhoons) which have little relevance to the type of conflicts in which UK Armed Forces are currently engaged, or likely to be engaged in in the foreseeable future. The RN and RAF may be supporting the Army in Afghanistan, but they haven't been fully involved in a major operation since the Falklands in 1982.

Under both Tory and Labour governments the Armed Forces have seen their budget whittled away year on year so that in real terms it is now stands at just about half of what it was at the end of the Cold War (from 4% to 2% of GDP). In today's economic climate and with current social and educational imperatives, the military can only expect their finances to get worse. Nor can they rely on other departments' continued acquiescence in the exceptional transfer of state funds (the Urgent Operational Requirement programme).

What is clear is that there is an imbalance between the aspirations of politicians on the world stage and their willingness to provide the resources to match these aspirations. What is compounding the problem is that military budgets are still operating within the framework determined by the last Defence Review carried out some ten years ago. At that time UK's foreign policy was about the long-range projection of British influence around the world and, as a consequence, behemoths tramped over any calls their might have been for regiments and battalions.

A lot has changed over the last ten years. Now it is all about counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism and, as is obvious in Afghanistan, what such conflicts need are boots on the ground, in large numbers.
A general election is a good time for a real public debate on defence policy. The guys risking their lives on the frontline deserve clearly defined war aims, the resources to carry them out and the knowledge that the public supports them.

Op Telic commemorated

At today's commemoration service in St Paul's Cathedral the Nation gave thanks and paid honour to the 120,000 British servicemen and women who served in Operation Telic between 2003 and 2009.

The service also paid due honour to the sacrifice made by the 178 who gave their lives in the service of their country.

The focal point of the service was the centrepiece from the 'Basra Wall' which had been built out in Iraq by soldiers to honour their fallen comrades. It took a hard-fought campaign by the families of the fallen to get the government to eventually agree to bring the Wall home and to have it rebuilt at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The sentence engraved on the central plate from the Wall does not simply speak for those that fell but also speaks for all those who served on Operation Telic. Inscribed with lines from the Book of Wisdom:

"Honourable age does not depend on length of days, nor is the
number of years a true measure of life."

UK Armed Forces: Pride of Britain

Members of UK Armed Forces picked up a number of awards again this year at the Daily Mirror's annual Pride of Britain Awards.

The UK Joint Medical Group Afghanistan was recognised for its work in the field hospital at Camp Bastion.

Sergeant Noel Connolly from the Royal Marines also received a Special Recognition Award for his bravery last year in thwarting an attempted suicide attack.

Major Phil Packer of the Royal Military Police received the Fundraiser of the Year Award for his efforts in support of Help for Heroes.

And Petty Officer Martin Langlands received the Outstanding Bravery Award for his actions in an off-duty capacity which saw him rescue a family involved in a traffic accident.

Congratulations to all award winners!

MoD: Military personnel are Pride of Britain

Tories turn their guns on the MoD

At the their party conference yesterday Liam Fox, shadow defence secretary, promised that a Tory government would look to cut the running costs of the MoD by as much as 25% to free up extra cash for spending on frontline troops.

It is astounding to read that the cost of running the MoD itself accounts for 20% of the total defence budget - that's one hell of a lot of tea and biscuits! But with 85,000 civil servants sitting behind their desks in the MoD, you can understand where it all goes.

The MoD is renowned for waste and budget overspend, all at the expense of the guys fighting on the frontline. As Liam Fox said: "The procurement process has failed to deliver on time. The top 20 major procurement programmes have a cumulative delay of 483 months. The expected cost overruns in the next 10 years alone amount to £16bn … The simple truth is that Gordon Brown as chancellor was never willing to fully fund Tony Blair's wars".

If, as the Tories insist, their cuts would not hit defence projects or the numbers in the Armed Forces, then civilian jobs must be what is in their sights. You must admit: 85,000 civil servants doing the admin for the 99,000 in the Army does sound a tad disproportionate.


Coincidently yesterday was also the day that it was announced that General Dannatt would be joining a new Tory government as, at the least, its military advisor. Can we take this 25% cut as the first manifestation of The General's revenge on the bureaucrats who conspired against him when he was CGS?

BBC: Tories 'to cut MoD costs by 25%'

government's £1billion response to helicopter criticism

Improvements to Britain's military helicopter fleets are being announced thick and fast in the wake of the harsh criticism doled out to ministers over the summer.

Just over a week ago Defence Minister Quentin Davies said that RAF Chinook helicopters operating in Afghanistan will receive a £408m upgrade to deliver more powerful engines and more advanced, digitised cockpits.

A couple of days later the MoD reported a £300m upgrade to the RAF's Puma fleet which should see improved performance and enable operations in the toughest conditions (Afghanistan perhaps).

The very next day came the announcement that additional Merlin helicopters will be in Afghanistan before the end of the year - "increasing the number of UK helicopters by 25 per cent".

And today the MoD has today announced an Integrated Operation Support (IOS) contract worth £439million aimed at improving the technical, engineering and logistic support available to Apache attack helicopters operating in Afghanistan.

The Apache Project Team Leader in Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), Air Commodore Doug Whittaker said: ”This contract will improve the quality of support provided to the front line as well as making savings over the helicopter’s lifetime. Given the success of Apache on operations, this contract is most timely and welcome.”

Shephard: Army Apaches get a £439m Boost

MoD: Merlins prepare to get hot and high in Afghanistan
MoD: MOD announces £300m to boost Puma power
MoD: RAF Chinooks to be upgraded for Afghanistan

Warthog breaks cover

Singapore Technologies Kinetics have just unveiled the Warthog, a variant of their Bronco All-Terrain Vehicle modified for the British Army. The MoD ordered 100+ of these armoured vehicles in a £150million deal signed last December under the Urgent Operational Requirement programme.

The modifications required by the UK included a protected gun-mount, extra armour, specialist electronic counter-measure equipment and communications tools.

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said: "Warthog will be true to its name as a beast of a vehicle that can manoeuvre across difficult terrain, power-up steep gradients and even cling to slopes. Warthog will provide improved protection to our troops in Afghanistan's Green Zone, where water and a fragile infrastructure make it difficult for other vehicles to operate. It will be able to move through deep water while carrying troops at the heart of our operations."

ST Kinetics have assured the MoD that the Warthof will be delivered to the British Army on schedule later in the year. Twelve UK Armed Forces trainers have already begun operation and maintenance training in Singapore to allow them to start bringing the vehicles into service shortly after delivery.

Brigadier Ian Simpson, DE&S Head of Combat Wheels Group at the MoD said: "The Warthog has proven itself to be a very capable vehicle in tests and trials. I am impressed by the high standards of engineering applied to this vehicle and the quality of the support package; providing our deployed forces with the higher levels of protection and mobility".

Warthogs will be replacing the Vikings currently in service in Afghanistan. Let's hope that they live up to their tough name and do indeed provide our troops with the extra protection they need.

ST Kinetics: ST Kinetics Unveils First Made-In-Singapore Vehicle For British Army
MoD: The Warthog is on its way

38 Engineer Regiment receive great welcome home

Thousands of people lined the streets of Antrim, Northern Ireland last Saturday to welcome back the soldiers of 38 Engineer Regiment from their six-month tour in Afghanistan.

Over 400 soldiers marched to their base at Maserene Barracks following a private civic event at the town's Antrim Forum leisure centre.

The soldiers - who as part of the Royal Engineers Corps -have the Freedom of the Borough - were greeted by rapturous applause and cheers from the crowd as they made their way along the short route from Antrim Forum to their base on the Randalstown Road.

Following the parade, the soldiers were presented with their operational medals at a ceremony in the barracks.

In their six-month tour of duty, 38 Engineer Regiment was involved in almost every military operation British forces undertook in the region, including the high-profile Operation Panther's Claw.

CO Lt Col Roger Lewis said: "Sandy, sweaty, dirty, dangerous and bloomin' hot just about sums up life in Afghanistan during the last six months. It takes men and women of genuine character and real fortitude to stick to a task as daunting as the one we have faced since March and I am immensely proud of each and every officer and soldier that has dealt with adversity head on."

Well done 38 Engineers! Well done Antrim!

MoD: 38 Engineer Regiment welcomed back from Afghanistan
Army.MOD: 38 Engineer Regiment

STUBS: Armed Forces and WASPS supporters

STUBS is a new charity which aims to 'demonstrate care and respect for UK armed services in an innovative way'. It was set up by Jan and Craig Vassie and secured charitable status in April of this year.

The concept behind STUBS originated from a simple idea: that at most events there are more often than not a number of unsold tickets and that these could be put to a charitable use.......and who better to benefit than Britain's service personnel, especially those injured in the service of their country.

For some time the Vassies had been taking patients from Headley Court as their guests to home matches of the London WASPS rugby club and this lead to the club agreeing to pilot their scheme by donating 20 unsold tickets per home game to STUBS to distribute.

The principle aims of the organisation are:

to provide hospitality facilities at sports and cultural events for injured
servicemen and women undergoing rehabilitation at DMRC Headley Court or UHB
Selly Oak; and

to acquire and distribute event tickets to armed services
veterans who would not otherwise be able to attend the event

If you would like to support the scheme, visit the STUBS website at www.stubs.org.uk

Well done, Jan and Craig! Well done WASPS!

More troops? Don't hold your breath

In reply to the direct question from visiting Defence Secretary Ainsworth "What is your top desire from right here at the chalkface (sic) - what would you have more of today?", Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes of 11 Regiment EOD replied: "more troops on the ground".

The apparently surprised Defence Secretary asked: "People?". Staff Sgt Hughes replied: "Absolutely, more troops." He went on: "If you give us more troops, we can form a counter-IED taskforce to train ground troops better." And consequently reduce injuries and save lives.

That British forces in Afghanistan are stretched and that ISAF numbers need to be increased has been shouted by frontline soldiers into the ears of politicians for months. But little has so far been forthcoming. Ainsworth is flogging a dead horse when he says that we've got to get our European allies to do their share; they clearly have no intention of honouring their NATO commitments.

Today former CGS General Sir Richard Dannatt has accused Gordon Brown of refusing the military's requests for major troop reinforcement. The General says that sInce the beginning of the year the Army has been advising that 2,000 extra troops need to be sent out to Afghanistan but this advice has been repeatedly ignored. Gordon Brown, however, has denied the General's claims - now, whose word would you believe?

Newly-appointed CGS General Sir David Richards has also backed calls for significant reinforcements in Afghanistan to allow hard-pressed coalition forces to dominate the ground more and reverse the spread of Taliban influence. He told the Sunday Telegraph more troops would allow the coalition to 'start winning the psychological battle' for the support of ordinary Afghans.

Let's hope that Ainsworth and Brown will heed the advice of Kim Hughes and David Richards and actually do something about it.

AOL: Hero soldier asks for more troops
BBC: PM 'refused extra Afghan troops'

Ainsworth still defends use of Vectors

During his "morale-boosting" visit to British Forces in Helmand, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth had again to defend the continued use of Vector Light Protected Patrol vehicles in Afghanistan.

The Vectors, brought in to replace the discredited Snatch Land Rovers, have been condemned by commanders on the ground as providing inadequate blast protection and being unreliable, a view supported by the National Audit Office back in London ("Support to High Intensity Operations", May 2009).

Although Ainsworth's predecessor had agreed to their withdrawal, it was in a Vector that Britain's latest casualty, Senior Aircraftsman Marcin Wojtak of the RAF Regiment, was tragically killed last Thursday.

In defence of their continued use, Bob Ainsworth maintains that the Vector is one of a number of vehicle types which commanders can call on to meet the needs of a particular operational situation. Unfortunately, lack of confidence in the Vector is forcing commanders to call on Snatch once again, though admittedly in their upgraded Vixen variant.

The UK has recently allocated £1.3billion for improved armoured vehicles - I suppose being the MoD you can expect a 10% wastage.

Again unsurprisingly the UK also spends by far the least on equipment for her soldiers in Afghanistan than our major allies.........

equipment spend per soldier :
Canada £507,500
US £463,000
UK £289,000

Military World: Troops raise new concerns over safety of armoured patrol vehicles
MoD: Protected Patrol Vehicles - Vector