U.S. army is racist, claims British officer (Barf barf spin alert!)

The Hindu newspaper ^ | 1/24/06 | Richard Norton-Taylor and Jamie Wilson

[voletti]

London/Washington: A senior British officer has criticised the U.S. army for its conduct in Iraq, accusing it of institutional racism, moral righteousness, misplaced optimism, and of being ill-suited to engage in counter-militancy operations.

The blistering critique, by Brigadier Nigel Aylwin-Foster, who was the second most senior officer responsible for training Iraqi security forces, reflects criticism and frustration voiced by British commanders about American military tactics.

Startling comments

What is startling is the severity of his comments — and the decision by Military Review, a U.S. army magazine, to publish them.

American soldiers, says Brig. Aylwin-Foster, were ``almost unfailingly courteous and considerate''. But he says ``at times their cultural insensitivity, almost certainly inadvertent, arguably amounted to institutional racism''. The U.S. army, he says, is imbued with an unparalleled sense of patriotism, duty, passion and talent. ``Yet it seemed weighed down by bureaucracy, a stiflingly hierarchical outlook, a predisposition to offensive operations and a sense that duty required all issues to be confronted head-on.''

While U.S. officers in Iraq criticised their allies for being too reluctant to use force, their strategy was ``to kill or capture all terrorists and insurgents: they saw military destruction of the enemy as a strategic goal in its own right''. Such an unsophisticated approach is counter-productive, exacerbating the task the U.S. faced by alienating sections of the population, he argues.

[the scotsman]

Firstly,British isnt English.Britain is England,Scotland,Wales and NI.Ergo,the Scots ARE British!...

British not on the front lines?....dear oh dear

Who co-led the invasion of Iraq?.What are the SAS doing then in Afghanistan?.What were the Royal Marines doing in Op Snipe(in place of an much vaunted US mountain division that couldnt actually do the job!)?..What about the crack 16th Air Assault Brigade now being sent to quell and control a recently-violent province?.

Oh and if you REALLY think that the British troops sent north in Iraq did nothing but 'guard',you really do need to find out more,as those British troops undertook OFFENSIVE ops whilst there,on anti-insurgent sweeps and specific anti-insurgent ops.

Your insistence that the British have sat somewhere between the sideline and the fron tline is UTTER RUBBISH.....

Your knowledge of the British in Iraq seems to stem from what you can glean from Fox News,mate.....

'they ain't on the front lines'...so the ENTIRE Iraq War is Fallujah,is it?.Thats a hell of an insult to the vast majority of Americans who are doing a fine job in other areas of Iraq(or Afgahnistan for that matter).....

And where was you ire when the 'Stars and Stripes' in 2003 insulted the Royal Marines(the very unit for that the US REQUESTED)over Op Snipe,by the way?..

[the scotsman]

'Apart from Northern Ireland, which of those countries does Britain still control again?'

Sigh,they were given independence.....whats your silly point?.What does their current status have to do with the success or failure of previous military operations?.

I take it you ARE aware that Malaya in 1957,Kuwait in 1961 and S Arabia in 1964,all by then independent or in the latter case,guaranteed independence,actually REQUESTED that British forces stay/come in and defeat Communist/nationalist guerillas?....

Sorry if Britain was actually able to defeat Communism in SE Asia.Sorry that Britain was actually able to defeat terrorists on several continents and be the premier counter-insurgency experts over six decades...

[NoClones]

"...'American soldiers', says Brig. Aylwin-Foster, were `...almost unfailingly courteous and considerate'. But he says '...at times...arguably amounted to institutional racism'

Hey there, buck-toothed brit, we've pulled your bacon out of the fire a few times last century. Just get out of the way and let us do our job!

[NavVet]

First of all, I've had a few Scots tell me not to call them British, so make up your mind.

"Who Co-led the invasion." Look at a map. The Brits swung into east into the Basra region where Saddam had few friends and lots of enemies." The U.S. went into the Sunni triangle alone and apart from some very limited support the Brits have not been much involved. I'm sure the British troops would have been up for the job, but face it, the British population doesn't have the stomach for it and would have been in open rebellion if the Brits started to take casualties in any numbers. Tony Blair had a close call in the election, even with the Brits only conducting very limited offensive operations. (As far as the few Brits in Northern Iraq. The one place safer than Southern Iraq is Northern Iraq. The Kurds are running commercials on the BBC for Pete's sake.

Nice little red herring about Faluja. You know what I'm talking about without me listing every major town in the Sunni triangle.

And I'm sure the Brits, French and Canadians are all doing a fine job in Afghanistan. Sure it is dangerous, it only takes one bullet to kill you. But duty in Afghanistan is not quite the same as pulling down the happy birthday signs in Tikrit now is it.

Oh, and you should be glad that we American's get much of our news on Britain from Fox. If we paid any attention to the BBC, we would think Al-Qaeda were the good guys.

Don't get me wrong, I don't take any pleasure in pointing out that this British arsehole general is just that. Britain is probably our only ally in Western Europe apart capable of contributing any significant military force. However, I'm not going to listen to such outrageous allegations without setting the record straight.

Bottom line, if General Fancy Pants wants to criticize our operations in the Sunni Triangle, he should give it a go himself first. Who knows, maybe he could win over Zarqawi with his American Bashing.

[the scotsman]

Fair reply,Vet...

Firstly,Scotland is part of Britain(by choice in 1707 unlike the Irish and Welsh).Therefore we can call ourselves Scots,Scottish and British,some call themselves British and dont regard themselves as Scots.

Secondly,when referring to the North,I was/am referring to the British sent to relieve the US troops around the Sunni Traingle,not the far north.Apologies.

I just felt/feel that you underestimated/are underestimating our very valuable contribution in Iraq and Afghanistan,and 'tea' remarks are just frankly insulting...

I disagree in parts with Brig Foster,however READ the article please.It is NOT the anti-american rant that the American Right has stated it is.And where was the ire over the Stars+Stripes when they felt the need to insult the Royal Marines?.Where were the posts here or at RightNation saying that in wartime that was 'out of order','not needed','bad for morale' etc?.

http://www.operations.mod.uk/afghanistan/summary.htm
http://www.operations.mod.uk/afghanistan/forces.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4646646.stm

http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/bkgrnd.htm
http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/summary.htm
http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/forces.htm

[NavVet]

I haven't seen the Stars and Stripes article that you mention, so I can't comment specifically on that. The Stars and Stripes is an independent newspaper, not directly affiliated with the military, and its circulation is actually quite small compaired to what it was in WWII. You can't even find a copy on most U.S. bases.

Still, if I had seen any such article linked on Free Republic (I've never been to Right Nation)which slandered the Royal Marines, I assure you my defense of them would be as spirited as has been my defense of the U.S. Army in this case. If you have a link, I would be glad to take a look at it and respond.

And fair enough, I will read the entire article which quotes the British General, but if he said even one of the things attributed to him, I probably won't change my opinion that he is underserving of a comission in even the French Army.

[kittymyrib]

Does Nigel Alwyn-Foster wear jodpurs and drink tea with his pinkie out? That's the picture I have of this wuss. I'd love to have heard what our guys called him behind his back. Sounds like Nigel was jealous of our real men.

[BlueNgold]

Having worked closely with British counterparts in the past I cannot help but laugh at a Brit complaining about bureaucracy...

[NavVet]

Okay, I read the entire article and while it is an insult wrapped up in praise, it is still an insult.

It is easy to sit back in an area which has truly been liberated with a generally supportive population and point fingers at the Americans who are tasked with controlling that segment of the population that has had its place of privilege pulled out from under it. In the areas the American's control that are as peaceful as Basra, they hand out candy and build schools all day. Operations in terrorist strongholds call for a different approach. I would wager this British Officer would be singing a different tune if he had to deal with multiple suicide attacks, IED's and snipers every day.

[tonycavanagh]

re :The title of this thread is "U.S. Army is racist, claims BRITISH OFFICER..

Yes that is the title of the thread isn't it.

And what is the title of the actual article that the British General wrote.

And what publication was it written in.

And have you read the full length document.

We are discussing a document that was not written for you, for me, for FR for the guardian or any-other individual who will get his panties in a twist over anything they are told cos its in the Guardian and on FR so it must be true.

The document was published in A American Military periodical read by senior American and British Officers discussing present and future COIN op strategy.

Not for discussion amongst a load of blow hards and civvies.

And also when I was out in Basra I faced the same dangers your chaps do from snipers ied and all the other nasties the terrorists have dreamed up.

And as a ex military man you should be ashamed to even talk about who has lost the most casualties as a kind of pissing up the war game.

Each casualty American or British represents a lost family member a lost mate.

[NavVet]

First of all, I'm not an ex-military man I'm an active duty officer. Second of all, I've read the entire article. Both of these things you would know if you read the entire thread. Stars and Stripes is not an American Military magazine, it is a private newspaper.

If you were in Basra, then you know that you may have faced the same type of dangers, but to pretend they were on the same scale as those faced by troops operating in the Sunni Triangle is simply not intellectually dishonest.

Pointing out that the situation faced by the author of the article in question is far different than that being faced by those American's he is criticizing is legitimate argument. I don't mention who has taken the most casualties as some kind of perverted scorecard, but it is relevant to demonstrate that the self righteous British Officer who was being critical of the way the American's were responding to large-scale terrorist operations, was doing so from as a spectator not a participant.

I appreciate the fact that you've been there. My unit has been in Baghdad and I'm on my way to that part of the world myself. So, I'm not responding as a civie blow hard.

Thanks for your service and sorry if you've got your knickers in a knot over me responding to the arrogant and ignorant comments by a British General, but I stand by my comments.

[spunkets]

"Such an unsophisticated approach"

Hey Nigel, your free to have tea with the buggers now. See if you can get them sophisticated enough to stop their terror campaign? Give them a hug. Tell them some jokes. Show them your a nice guy Nigel.

[tonycavanagh]

Lets just agree to disagree.

I think I will quit FR every time I come on here I get an over whelming urge to go out into the street and smack a yank about.

Its a pity because when ever I have worked alongside the yanks in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and West Germany in the old days I always got on with them. Shared the same jokes, beers and same dangers

Problem with this site is that freepers spend all there time looking for articles to post to prove how much they are hated by everyone, or to post article about how much better they are to everyone else.

I need to go on a liberal site just to remind myself why I am right wing and conservative, and not a yank hater.

[NavVet]

I know what you mean. I probably shouldn't have risen to the bait and responded to the posting of one, in my opinion ignorant, comment by one British Officer. I think the fact that every bit of American bashing that comes our of Europe, makes headlines on this side of the pond probably makes us a little too sensitive.

My personal experience working with British Navy Units has always been pleasant. I'll always remember throwing back some beers on the HMS Churchill years ago. I remember thinking, "Beer on board, now this is a civilized Navy."

[YanksGiants2000]

I had to read this in college, the teacher made us print out the article... What a bunch of garbage.

[tonycavanagh]

I don't agree with all he said and also the document in question was overtaken by events.

But it was published in A American Military publication for discussion and debate on a senior level, and there is nothing wrong with that.

It is to be encouraged

The problem we have today is can you publish any article to challenge and debate without it become Internet meat, what is scary is senior officers not saying or writing anything because it will be taken the wrong way by someone.

As a serving officer you could join the debate and discuss and demolish his points in a proper military manner in the American periodical in question.

This is not the first time and will not be last time that someone not directly engaged in the operation has written a aftermath operations report, and it can lead to a fresh perspective.

A fresh perspective may be wrong but it keeps you thinking and that is the proper military way.

Apart from that we should leave the my country is better than yours and we are harder than you to the civvies, they never have to meet and serve together as we do.

Tony

[Paul_Denton]

The point being is that the British are the ONLY western country to stem the tide of communism and insurgency, you need to listen to you betters.

Nice try troll but Reagan was the one who won the cold war.

[miss marmelstein]

"And I've found when "talking" on other message boards with people of other English-speaking nations,that I generally know,in a surface way,as much about their countries as they know about mine,so that can get off that kick about how insular and unaware WE are. Much of what they THINK they know,for that matter,is attained from our syndicated television shows and liberal-spun news media. They don't have a clue about America in any real way."

Boy, have you got that right. Whenever I travel to Europe (at least once a year), the majority of tourists are AMERICAN. Insulated, my foot. On the other hand, when was the last time you heard the voice of a middle-class Brit on vacation in Florida or NY? ALMOST NEVER. They are too busy eating their spagetti and chips in Italy.

Do these Brits ever listen to anything that comes out of their mouths??