[NYTr] Afgh: They Fire First and Think Later, say Brits of Yankee Troops

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

The Times of London - Aug 24, 2007
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2323959.ece

'They fire first and think later,' say British soldiers

by Tim Albone in Kabul

The friendly-fire deaths in Helmand have reopened a schism between
American and British troops over how to fight the Taleban in
Afghanistan.

Although publicly British commanders insist the Americans are still a
vital ally in the fight against insurgents, privately British soldiers
expressed concern and anger at their "gung-ho" approach.

Squadron Leader John Gunther, a British spokesman in Helmand, told The
Times: “The Americans have helped us out on many occasions. The cause
of the accident is under investigation, what I will say is that
although tragic, friendly fire incidents are rare and are part of armed
conflict.

“We have methods in place to stop this, but they are not fail-safe.” 

However, news that an investigation was being launched did little to
appease the British soldiers on the ground.

“I just can’t figure out how this has happened. How do you tell the
families they were killed by supposed allies?” one British soldier
asked.

“Whenever I hear we have American jets overhead I get f***ing worried,”
another serviceman said. “They just don’t seem to know what they are
doing a lot of the time.”

“They have a different approach to us, they fire first and think
later,” said another.

“Here we are fighting the Taleban and they (US warplanes) are dropping
bombs on us," said a British soldier. "They are meant to have the best
equipment, yet this still happens time and time again. You have to
wonder what they are doing.”

Earlier this month an unnamed senior British officer told The New York
Times that differences in tactics were such that he had asked American
Special Forces teams to pull out of the town of Sangin, in Helmand,
because they were causing so many casualties and undermining support
for reconstruction projects.

The US forces also planned to build a patrol base near a religious
shrine and a graveyard — a proposal only abandoned after British troops
intervened.

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, was forced to issue a statement
after the report, in which he said the views were those of a single
officer. "It is not the view of the alliance. These things can be said
in the heat of battle," he said.

But when The Times visited Sangin last month, other soldiers were
willing to describe the difficulties of working with their allies.
“They just seem to have no idea how to fight a counterinsurgency, we
have a history but they have no reference points” said one soldier.

“They have a different approach to us, if we get in an ambush we pull
back and assess the situation," said another. "They try and shoot their
way through it and kill as many people as possible.” 

                           ***

PA News via The Independent - Aug 24, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2891978.ece


Three soldiers killed in Helmand 'friendly fire'

Three British soldiers have been killed and two injured in an apparent
friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence
said today.

The soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, were
taking part in a patrol north-west of Kajaki, Helmand Province, at
about 6.30pm local time yesterday.

It is believed they were killed by a bomb dropped from a US F15
aircraft to repel Taliban insurgents.

The soldiers' next of kin have been informed, the MoD said.

The patrol was intended to disrupt Taliban activity and reassure local
residents.

The soldiers called in close air support from two US F15s after coming
under intense attack from insurgents.

The MoD said: "One bomb was dropped and it is believed the explosion
killed the three soldiers.

"The three soldiers were declared dead at the scene. The injured
soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to the medical facility at Camp
Bastion for treatment.

"The events surrounding the incident are subject to an investigation."

The deaths take the number of British military fatalities in
Afghanistan since the start of operations in November 2001 to 73.