Andy McNab News

FiveBooks
Andy McNab on Anti-Terror, The Politics of War
Published 27 May 2010

Andy’s ‘Five Books’ are My Friend the Mercenary (James Brabazon), Crusades (Terry Jones and Alan Ereira), 52 Days (James Fergusso), Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (Siegfried Sassoon) and: 

Your fifth choice is a Ministry of Defence green paper.

“Yes, a bit geeky this one. This is an MOD green paper pre-empting the white paper and it’s a very clear and concise document about the politics of war. We are a trading nation and we will go to war to keep our trading routes clear. Alan Greenspan said we went to war in Iraq for the oil, and he was right. The fuel is coming on line now (the army is getting a deal for something like five pence a litre) and, though Basra is never going to be a day out in Margate, things have calmed down because people are making money. It’s about the freedom of goods, services and information and to secure our food and resources. That’s the way we do it. We don’t send in the gunships any more, but we go into joint operations with America because they have the same doctrine as us. We are in Afghanistan because we need stability in the region…”

Interview by Anna Blundy

Go here to read the full interview about Andys book choices on the FiveBooks website

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Ah sigh, thought we were done with politics, but politics is not done with us it seems. Today the Daily Mail digs up stuff from 2005 to make their point against labour:

“SAS defied MoD to rescue two of its men held hostage in Iraq as top commanders ‘prepared to quit’ over ban on mission”:
The SAS launched a daring mission to rescue two of its own men held hostage in Iraq against the orders of the Ministry of Defence, the Daily Mail can reveal. The elite unit was pushed to the brink of mutiny after it was banned from saving the SAS soldiers captured by militants because to do so would embarrass the Government. The astonishing edict drove SAS officers close to mass resignation, according to a hardhitting report by the Tory MP Adam Holloway, a former Guards officer.

Details of the incident in 2005 expose the shameful way the Armed Forces have become politicised under Labour – with political spin put before soldiers’ lives.

And here comes the good part:

Mr Holloway’s explosive account is supported by General Sir Mike Jackson, who was head of the Army at the time but only learned of the scandal later. General Jackson last night made clear his disgust at the way soldiers were asked to sacrifice their men for political reasons, shattering the sacred military covenant that no man is left behind on the battlefield. He told the Mail: ‘The story as you relate it chimes with my memory of the events. It was not only a brave but a very necessary operation to release those two captured soldiers. The British Army looks after its own. Underline that three times.’

Read the full article in the Daily Mail here

Three years prior to these events, in 2002,  members of Bravo Two Zero stated in a BBC Panorama documentary:

SAS patrol ‘left to die’

Eight SAS soldiers in the Gulf War were abandoned by their commanders after their mission went wrong, a BBC investigation suggests.
Requests for rescue made by the Bravo Two Zero patrol – operating behind enemy lines, with patrol leader Andy McNab - were ignored until it was too late, the BBC Panorama programme says.

Three of the patrol were killed, four were captured and tortured and one escaped during the ill-fated mission to destroy Iraqi Scud missiles in 1991.
The official inquiry into what went wrong has always maintained that no comprehensible messages for help were ever received.

But Panorama has seen an SAS log recording calls for assistance from the patrol, which it says shows emergency requests were received, ignored and covered up.

You can read the full transcript of the Panorama documentary here

THE SECRET SAS LOG ENTRIES

THURSDAY 24TH JANUARY 1991: B Sqn Northern MSR gp reported that they had been compromised and requested exfil asp. Exfil did not take place as it was unclear whether they had had a contact or if it was a chance compromise.

FRIDAY 25TH: B20 made TACBE contact again, it was reasonable to assume that…they were moving South. A CH 47 crew were on standby for B20 and as from now >there will be 1 crew on permanent standby.

SATURDAY 26TH: Poss further communication from B20 using TACBE to a passing F15, this contact came from a location on the main E&E route. Op mounted tonight to pull them out. (CH 47 returned to Al Jouf without completing the mission due to bad weather.)

So..if the Daily Mail can dig up old cows.. so can we

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You saw the ‘Lady Gaga’ tribute in the previous post; prepare to see why British soldiers truly are the best. We present you with ‘Amarillo’ courtesy of the Royal Dragoon Guards.

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As published in The Sun

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We went to war with Saddam. So what? The world’s a better place

By ANDY MCNAB
28 November 2009

The official inquiry into the Iraq war is expected to last a year, but here an SAS legend tells Sun readers why the conflict was worthwhile – and suggests who’s to blame for our soldiers dying.

Diplomats have suggested to the Iraq War Inquiry that George Bush and Tony Blair had “signed a deal in blood” to remove Saddam Hussein long before there was any spin to justify an invasion.

So what? Tell us something we didn’t know.

All the arguments about who said what, to whom, and when are academic now. The fact is that Iraq is better off and so are we.

Saddam was evil. He tried to kill me and killed many innocent people. He’s dead. The country is being restored. End of. What’s the problem? It was in our interest and, ultimately, in the interests of the Iraqis themselves to remove him.

I have been back to Iraq many times and the fact is that, on the ground, there is stability they never had before.

It’s not stability as you would expect in Birmingham, or Worcester, or London, but for that part of the world it is pretty stable. Certainly, in the south, people are getting jobs; oil fields are producing; people are making money. Basra international airport is truly international at last. In Basra people are saying, “We don’t want the Iranians interfering. We’re making money now.” There’s even a tourist board starting to thrive.

People say they had order under Saddam, but he just slaughtered thousands of people if they did not agree with him. Some of the old Ba’ath party men were outrageous and proof that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Any human beings given absolute control turn to abuse and violence – and that’s what Saddam Hussein did.

The old regime is gone and good, because the new regime is starting to work. But that is thanks to the military, nothing to do with the politicians.

The troops were hampered in the build-up to war; given no guidance by politicians who sent them to war; and given no plan for after the invasion. They had to work it out for themselves, and they did despite the problems that were put in their way. Job done.

The inquiry uncovering pretence over Weapons Of Mass Destruction… that’s old news.

What I really want this inquiry to find out is who was responsible for hampering the military preparations for war so that we appeared to be reacting to the UN mandate rather than a deal struck by Bush and Blair a year before.

Who was it who said: “We can’t let the military go ahead with their intelligence preparation; or ordering the kit they need; or getting it in theatre in time.”

Who was it who decided: “We can’t let them order thousands more sets of body armour or more ammunition because, otherwise, we will expose the fact that we are going to war no matter what.”

Who were the politicians who refused to give the military time to get the equipment they needed while they went ahead with the charade of going to war over weapons of mass destruction?

We were left running around like the poor cousins, with no kit and no guidance, but we still achieved something.

The success in Iraq is not down to the politicians.

But the loss of soldiers’ lives because of a lack of equipment or lack of preparation might well be.

Source: The Sun

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‘It reeks and it stinks’by David Willets
13 November 2009

SAS legend Andy McNab last night blasted Defence Ministry civil servants who rake in big bonuses as “a bunch of bankers”.
He spoke out after shock revelations that cash incentives to MoD staff since April have totalled £47.2MILLION.

Since the Iraq war began in 2003, £287,809,049 has been doled out.

Meanwhile the Government is under fire for starving the armed forces of cash for vital kit.

Two senior civil servants picked up £17,000 bonuses – more than many privates earn in a YEAR.

Bravo Two Zero author McNab, furiously compared MoD pen-pushers to the money men who plunged Britain into financial crisis.

He said: “It absolutely reeks and it stinks. Why don’t those lads fighting for us get bonuses?”

“I didn’t realise the MoD was being run this way. I never knew they were a bunch of bankers.

“They are civil servants. They should get a salary like everyone else. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the MoD. It’s not like they’re getting much right.”

The scandal deepened last night as MoD sources said there will be no change in plum bonus packages until at least the summer of 2011.

Around 50,000 MD civil servants will have their wages topped up by performance bonuses this year.

The payouts since the Iraq conflict began could have bought at least five Chinook helicopters, or 48 Lynx Mk9 helicopter upgrades, or more than 300 armoured trucks.

The money could also have hired 17,000 privates for the Army. They earn a basic £16,681, with £2,380 extra when serving abroad.

Go here to read the full article

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