|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
News Search
|
|
2-4-2003 Daily Express CO reassures the terrified folk of Al Zubayr By Gethin Chamberlain in Al Zubayr TAM O'Shanter perched on his head, Lieutenant Colonel Mike RiddellWebster, commanding officer of the Black Watch, strides through the crowded market place in the centre of Al Zubayr. The CO has decided that enough is enough. After days of sitting watching his troops come under attack from mortars, AK47s and rocket propelled grenades, he has decided not to hide any longer. The order has gone out that the Black Watch is going to patrol the streets of the town of Al Zubayr on foot. The dozen or so officers and infantrymen chosen to accompany him have been told that - like the US troops the Iraqis fear so much - they can keep their helmets on if they wish, but he will be donning his bonnet, with its red hackle. It is 8am and already the town is teeming with people. Out of the gate stride the British officers, the CO in the lead, chatting to divisional staff officer Lt Col Roger Warren, a fluent Arabic speaker. They stroll forward side by side, apparently without a care in the world. Hand out-stretched, the CO greets the first wary Iraqis on the edge of the gathering. Hands in his pockets now, he listens as Warren addresses the crowd. They are not there to hurt anyone, he tells them, they are there to help the people of the town. A man in a luxuriant moustache and pristine white jelabbah shoves his way to the front. People have been taken prisoner by the British, he says. The British are too aggressive with their tanks and guns. They say that the old regime has not gone away, just moved to Basra. When the British leave, he explains, the people fear that the Ba'ath party will be back. The CO says: "The old regime is not coming back. We are here to stay."
|
|
||||
|
................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
|||||||
