Exactly 20 years ago more than 40,000 British troops were deployed on Operation Telic, to invade Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction which did not exist.
The legacy of that invasion is complicated, and Sitrep explains how it’s shaped the British Armed Forces of today.
General Lord Dannatt, former Chief of General Staff, tells us how it made us more risk-averse, but developed leadership skills that remain in today’s servicemen and women.
Plus decorated bomb disposal operator Chris Hunter tells us why he’s now living in the country where he was shot, and is still working to make it a safer place.
00:00 – On this episode
01:51 – Life in Iraq now for a UK veteran
08:48 – Iraq and the Islamic State terror group
10:43 – The ‘Hearts & Minds’ strategy
19:25 – How Iraq shaped today’s forces
25:49 – Lessons learned?
27:59 – Reflections from MPs who served in Iraq
#forcesnews #sitrep #iraq #britisharmy #iraqwar #podcast
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American will pay for everything their did and their doing on the day of judgement
Useless war. Trump was right.
We invaded a sovereign country. We have the nerve to lecture Russia lmao. What a dope country we have become.
Labour voters voted Blair in twice during during this time; Labour voters were clearly happy with it all. Labour voters are to blame.
In the sense that it was unjust?
Trillions spent to protect an Allied-installed government that made it legal for Allies to strip the region of resources, Trillions spent by countries' that could've rebuilt the entire region structurally, economically and socially, but that was never the goal, the goal was, and always will be to secure resources.
Is Iraq better and safer now or when under saddam? My father used to work in Iraq before the war and was able to walk the streets day and night without the risk of being kidnapped, now? You need armed guards to walk in most parts of Iraq, the other parts even that's a very risky proposition.
It seems that America aspires to occupy Iraq again with a larger number than its first army you still covet my country why don't you forget Iraq and talk about it
This war was one of the reasons Afghanistan ended in failure. Never take your eye off the ball.
It's very interesting – and heartening – to hear about the moral conviction of many of our soldiers. They genuinely thought they were doing the right thing on Operation Telic and some of them returned to help as civilian aid workers – as they did in other countries they'd served in. And indeed many British people supported it because we'd been told "we" were liberating the Iraqis.
The sad thing is that morality is what was manipulated by those who wanted this war. A war which they knew was for wholly immoral reasons. And now they emotionally blackmail us into accepting "refugees".
Fake war over fake weapons of mass destruction. Hearts and minds is and was a joke.
People just really take a hard think about the lies and propaganda they told for this war, before you support the lies and propaganda and send your children for the next , hit me back up in 20 years time to thank me ,
I'm not sure where the perception that defence isn't vote winning comes from – everyone is behind the defence of the realm.