US MILITARY ARE FROM MARS, UK MILITARY ARE FROM VENUS
Monday, November 23, 2009 at 09:35AM I thought it was interesting to read that the British chief of staff in Iraq, Colonel J.K.Tanner, described his US military counterparts as “a group of Martians” for whom “dialogue is alien,” saying: “Despite our so-called ‘special relationship,’ I reckon we were treated no differently to the Portuguese."
Leaked documents go to paint a vivid picture of the clash between what UK General Stewart described as “war-war” American commanders and their British counterparts, who he said preferred a “jaw-jaw” approach.
And THAT my friends is precisely what is wrong with the British strategy. It seems to believe that it can talk itself to victory when in fact the US fighting approach is the superior one. You win wars by killing your enemies and denying them ALL prospect of hope. In that regard the US attitude is to be commended. The UK approach, conditioned by years fighting here in Northern Ireland, is that winning hearts and minds is the sophisticated and modern way forward. I don't think it is but I do feel that the hostility evident in the UK attitude towards US commanders is disturbing and certainly not one that I sympathise with!
Iraq, US/UK military 
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Reader Comments (4)
Don'y you thik this is the problem when you have a government which doesn't share your enthusiasm for
books?
.....especially history books!
If we don't learn from it, we are destined to make the same mistakes.
You are quite right David - look where 'winning hearts and minds' has got us.
The British army should know that we have the Archbishop of Canterbury and legions of social workers we can deploy against the Taliban if indeed we have a strategy of jaw jaw. I feel sure they could jaw jaw the taliban to death. But our record in Iraq was dreadful and our retreat from Basra to skulk behind defensive lines in our base while the yanks and the Iraqis dealt with the shia was something the army will find it difficult to live down. The equally useless Foreign and Commonwealth Office are purpose made for doing the talking. What has happened to our country when the generals whine about talk talk and the sailors cry because their i-pods are confiscated?