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Looking For Trouble |
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April 3 |
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(Published April 4) THE war has moved on. The guns still pound away every night, the thump and bang rousing all around from their slumber to curse the artillery men, the shells whistling overhead, the distant thud of 90lbs of high explosive landing on some other poor soul. The fires still colour the night sky orange, smoke still drifts across the horizon, the sounds of gunfire somewhere far away still punctuate the silences, but for now it's not our war any more. On the radio, the Americans are marching on Baghdad, their soldiers routing the Iraqi divisions they said they had routed yesterday and the day before, the bridges they said were already taken, taken again. Around Basra, the Fusiliers have a toe-hold to the north, the Irish Guards are still fighting beyond the bridge over the canal by the shattered transport yard, the Royal Marines are pushing up from the south. If Baghdad falls, then Basra must follow, but today the soldiers are not interested. They want to go home. All they talk about is when they will get out, what they will do afterwards. Last night, one asked another to break his fingers so he could be sent home. The second man picked up a heavy jerry can full of water and asked him if he was sure, and he said he was. So he dropped the jerry can on the hand outstretched on a box of bottled water. Everyone expected the first soldier to pull his hand away, but he kept it there and the jerry can landed on his fingers and everyone waited for the crunch of breaking bones. But his fingers did not break, they were just sore, and then they talked some more about what they would do when they got home. Waiting for their orders to march on to Basra, the Black Watch must content themselves with cleaning up Az Zubayr, the town that has caused them so much trouble and cost them so dearly. In the lull before the final push, they busy themselves with foot patrols and distributing aid, trying to win over the people of the town, trying to make them forget the Baath Party that dominated their lives for so long. People are beginning to trust them, they say, and hiding places the militia thought secure are falling one by one. On the eastern edge of the town they have found another Baath Party base, packed with weapons, a lorry container parked out the back, stuffed with rocket propelled grenades, mortars, AK47s and ammunition, all in pristine condition, more than a ton in weight, their biggest find so far. Sergeant Scott Shaw led the raid. They had been driving past on what should have been a one-hour patrol, he said, when they spotted the RPG cases outside, nine crates of rockets and a launcher. "It wasn't planned. We were just out on patrol, but as we were moving between checkpoints one of the guys spotted the boxes," he said. "We searched the building next door, found the container and cracked it open with a sledgehammer and found all these things. We cleared the house. It was a meeting place and seemed to be some sort of headquarters for the Baath Party or the militia. It had two storeys with a long dining room and a big meeting room. "It became clear how important it was when we found a model room upstairs with a plan of the town made up in sand. They must obviously have been sitting up there planning their operations against us - maps and all that sort of thing. "A guy from the same street pointed out things to us. He said they all left a week ago. Maybe they have gone to Basra, but they could still be around here, hiding out because they know we are looking for them now." His captain, Campbell Close, says that when they first arrived in the town the militia was still in charge and people were nervous, but now that the water is back on and they can see that the British seem to want to help, they are coming round. "The feeling is that the Baath Party left about a week ago, although there may be a few bad guys still around. The army seems to have deserted and those who were more hardline have moved to Basra. "Everyone else has seen that the bad stories they told haven't happened, the bayoneting of babies and that sort of thing, and we are giving them food and water." In a former military compound on the east of the town, Lieutenant Chris Broadbent and his platoon are resting up, recovering after days of fighting, trying to acclimatise to the new role of peace-keepers, conscious that they will soon be asked to fight again. Before the war started, Chris had admitted he was nervous of what to expect, not sure how he would react or how the young men in his platoon would deal with their first taste of action. It is nearly two weeks since they crossed the border into this country from Kuwait. In that time they have been attacked with RPGs and mortars and harried by militia at every turn. The turret of his Warrior has taken a direct hit from an RPG. Had he not followed the advice of his gunner and retreated inside a moment or two earlier, he would have been killed. But at least he now has the answers to some of his questions. "It is different from how we thought it would be," he said. "I had in the back of my mind that it would not be a walkover, but it has been harder than I thought." After crossing the border, they moved on to the oil processing plant near Az Zubayr. There was a sense of urgency, but it still didn't seem like war. Their biggest problem was dealing with the looters who turned up to strip the plant, walking off with computers, ceiling fans, desks, anything they could carry or fit on to a pick-up truck. Even ambulances and fork-lift trucks disappeared before their eyes. The engineers were attacked, the company went in to retrieve what was left of their vehicles and he began to find out what war was really like. "We came under heavy attack from the militia and that woke everybody up. It was not training any more; people were trying to kill us," he said. "We were doing more and more raids and becoming more professional because we were getting used to it. The original brief had changed completely. Before we came out, we believed that if we were going to do any fighting it was going to be in the open, but they were using guerrilla tactics." And as they pushed on further into the town, the fighting became harder. "I had a direct hit to my turret with an RPG. I had been getting down because the gunner had kept on at me to batten down and I'd finally decided to listen to him. Afterwards, when I looked, all that was left of my rifle was a melted and twisted bit of metal. We were on fire for quite a while, but apparently I was relatively controlled, not too bad. We were battened down, trying to go through the drills. It was interesting to see how we all stayed focused." As his crew fought the fire, the Warrior behind him spotted the two teenage boys who had fired the RPG and were reloading. "He killed them. It's not nice, but they were trying to kill me and I feel justified in the decision that was taken. When you reflect on what is happening and realise that people are trying to kill you it is a sobering thought." But there have been no attacks for days now. "There are a few rounds still going off and the artillery are hitting Basra, but it seems to have reached some sort of equilibrium. It seems most of the militia have been killed or left and the mood of the locals has changed. "When we arrived they were hiding behind doors and didn't want to talk to us, but now they are being much more free with information, which is leading to more raids. With the water and electricity back on they have become more confident and at least this is better than what they had before." He has noticed the change, too, in his men. "We have grown up considerably in the last three weeks. When I think about what we were like in Kuwait, even the most junior soldiers have changed. They are more professional, more aware and more confident in what they are doing. We are proud of what we have done and now we are getting into a routine and that is helping morale." But they all know that this is just a pause, a breathing space before they are thrown back into the attack. When the decision is taken to go into Basra, they fear there will be more fighting to do. "I don't think Basra will be a walk in the park," he said. "Look at the resistance we faced here, and Basra is much bigger. But the reports are of a thin crust of resistance, and once that is broken through, everything suggests the people will support us." For now, though, all any of them can do is sit in the sun listening to their radios, cheering on someone else's war, hoping it will bring the end closer so they can go home.
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(Original copy) THE war has moved on The guns still pound away every night, the thump and bang rousing all around from their slumber to curse the artillery men, the shells whistling overhead, the distant thud of 90lbs of high explosive landing on some other poor soul. The fires still colour the night sky orange, smoke still drifts across the horizon, the sounds of gunfire somewhere far away still punctuate the silences, but for now it's not our war any more. On the radio, the Americans are marching on Baghdad, their soldiers routing the Iraqi divisions they said they had routed yesterday and the day before, the bridges they said were already taken, taken again. Around Basra, the Fusiliers have a toe-hold in the north, the Irish Guards are still fighting beyond the bridge over the canal by the shattered transport yard, the Royal Marines pushing up from the south. But there is more news from other places now, a new bug closing Hong Kong to visitors, a tour operator shedding 2,000 jobs, fears of a downturn in the economy back home. David Beckham has scored a penalty, Scotland have lost, again. If Baghdad falls, then Basra must follow, but today the soldiers are not interested. They want to go home. All they talk about is when they will get out, what they will do afterwards. Last night one asked another soldier to break his fingers so he could be sent home. The second man picked up a heavy jerry can full of water and asked him if he was sure and he said he was. So he dropped the jerry can full of water on the hand outstretched on the box of bottled water and everyone expected the first soldier to pull his hand away but he kept it there and the jerry can fell on his fingers and everyone waited for the crunch of breaking bones. But his fingers did not break, they were just sore, and then they talked some more about what they would do when they got home. Waiting for their orders to march on to Basra, the Black Watch must content themselves with cleaning up the town of Az Zubayr, the town that has caused them so much trouble and cost them so dearly. In the lull before the final push, they busy themselves with foot patrols and distributing aid, trying to win over the people of the town, trying to make them forget the Ba'ath party which dominated their lives for so long. People are beginning to trust them, they say, and the hiding places the militia thought secure are falling one by one. On the eastern edge of the town they have found another Ba'ath party base, packed with weapons, a lorry container parked out the back stuffed with rocket propelled grenades, mortars, AK47s, ammunition, all in pristine condition, more than a ton in weight, their biggest find so far. Sergeant Scott Shaw led the raid. They had been driving past on what should have been a one-hour patrol, he said, when they spotted the RPG cases outside, nine crates of rockets and a laucher. "It wasn't planned, we were just out on patrol but as we were moving between checkpoints one of the guys spotted the boxes," he says. "We searched the building nect door and found the container and cracked it open with a sledgehammer and found all these things." He points to the pit dug in the ground into which they have piled their haul. "We cleared the house. It was a meeting place and seemed to be some sort of headquarters for the Ba'ath party or the militia. It had two storeys with a long dining room and a big meeting room. It became clear how important it was when we fond a model room upstairs with a plan of the town made up in sand and they must obviously have been sitting up there planning their operations against us. There were maps and all that sort of thing. "A guy from the same street pointed out things to us. He said they all left about a week ago. Maybe they have gone to Basra, but they could still be around here, hiding out because they know we are looking for them now." His captain, Campbell Close, says that when they first arrived in the town the militia was still in charge and people were nervous, but now that the water is back on and they can see that the British seem to want to help, they are coming round. "The feeling is that the Ba'ath party left about a week ago, although there may be a few bad guys still around. The army seems to have deserted and those who were more hardline have moved to Basra. Everyone else has seen that the bad stories they told haven't happened, the bayoneting of babies and that sort of thing and we are giving them food and water. We are hearing that some of the militia are coming along to the distribution points now, so maybe it pays to advertise." In a former military compound on the east of the town, Lieutenant Chris Broadbent and his platoon are resting up, recovering after days of fighting, trying to acclimatise to the new role of peace-keepers, conscious that they will soon be asked to fight again. Before the war started, Chris had admitted he was nervous of what to expect, not sure how he would react or how the young men in his platoon would deal with their first taste of action. It is nearly two weeks since they crossed the border into this country from Kuwait. In that time they have been attacked with RPGs and mortars and harried by militia at every turn. The turret of his Warrior has taken a direct hit from an RPG. Had he not followed the advice of his gunner and retreated inside a moment or two earlier, he would have been killed. But at least he now has the answers to some of his questions. "It is different from how we thought it would be," he says. "I had in the back of my mind that it would not be a walkover, but it has been harder than I thought." After crossing the border, they moved on up to the oil processing plant near Az Zubayr. There was a sense of urgency, but it still didn't seem like war. Their biggest problem was dealing with the looters who turned up to strip the plant, walking of with computers, ceiling fans, desks, anything they could carry or fit onto a pick-up truck. Even ambulances and fork lift trucks disappeared before their eyes. On his first day in the country, he could not believe the poverty. People were clearly not starving but the children had no shoes, they were scavenging for whatever they could lay their hands on. He could not comprehend how the leadership of a country wth one of the biggest oil reserves on the planet could let its people live like that. But then the engineers were attacked and the company went in to retrieve what was left of their vehicles and he began to find out what war was really like. "We came under heavy attack from the militia and that woke everybody up. It was not training anymore, people were trying to kill us," he says. "We were doing more and more raids and becoming more professional becasue we were getting used to it. "The original brief had changed completely. Before we came out be believed that if we were going to do any fighting it was going to be in the open but they were using guerilla tactics." And as they pushed on further into the town, the fighting became harder. "I had a direct hit to my turret with an RPG. I had been getting down because the gunner had kept on at me to batten down and I'd finally decided to listen to him. Afterwards, when I looked, all that was left of my rifle was a melted and twisted bit of metal. We were on fire for quite a while but apparently I was relatively controlled, not too bad. We were battened down, trying to go through the drills. It was interesting to see how we all stayed focussed." As his crew battled the fire, the Warrior behind him spotted the two teenage boys who had fired the RPG and were reloading. "He killed them. It's not nice but they were trying to kill me and I feel justified in the decision that was taken. When you reflect on what is happening and realise that people are trying to kill you it is a sobering thought." But there have been no attacks for days now. "There are a few rounds still going off and the artillery are hitting Basra but it seems to have reached some sort of equilibrium. It seems most of the militia have been killed or left and the mood of the locals has changed. "When we arrived they were hiding behind doors and didn't want to talk to us but now they are being much more free with information, which is leading to more raids. "With the water and electricity back on they have become more confident and at least this is better than what they had before." He has noticed the change, too, in his men. "We have grown up considerably in the last three weeks. When I think about what we were like in Kuwait, even the most junior soldiers have changed, they are more professional, more aware and more confident in what they are doing. "We are proud of what we have done and now we are getting into a routine and that is helping morale." But they all know that this is just a pause, a breathing space before they are thrown back into the attack. When the decision is taken to go into Basra, they fear there will be more fighting to do. "I don't think Basra will be a walk in the park," he says. "Look at the resistance we faced here, and Basra is much bigger. But the reports are of a thin crust of resistance and once that is broken through, everything suggests the people will support us." For now, though, all any of them can do is sit in the sun listening to their radios, cheering on someone else's war, hoping it will bring the end closer so they can go home.
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