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a welcome end of an era
Aug. 1st, 2007 12:28 amAt midnight local time, the British Army ceased Operation Banner, the support to the civil power in Northern Ireland.
Since 1969, when they were first deployed, the Army has sent 300,000 troops through rotation in Northern Ireland, with the total force deployed there sometimes reaching 30,000. In that time, they killed 301 people and suffered 763 fatalities.
The Army came into Northern Ireland with a very colonial mindset; many might well say they always remained a colonial force, but their tactics and systems advanced and changed to reflect the fact that they were assisting to police what the British government viewed as part of their own nation. I am sure many will be glad to see an end to Operation Banner, both in the population of Northern Ireland and in the ranks of the British Army. I am certainly glad that it will be an end to a struggle pitting soldiers against civilians.
I would, however, wish that I thought that the lessons learned in Northern Ireland have been studied by the US Army and are being applied in Iraq. I think that they may be, but I fear it is too little too late. Only time will tell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Banner
http://www.operationbanner.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6923421.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2138447,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2007/jul/31/northernireland?picture=330305298
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/ulster/article2819591.ece
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2773945.ece
Since 1969, when they were first deployed, the Army has sent 300,000 troops through rotation in Northern Ireland, with the total force deployed there sometimes reaching 30,000. In that time, they killed 301 people and suffered 763 fatalities.
The Army came into Northern Ireland with a very colonial mindset; many might well say they always remained a colonial force, but their tactics and systems advanced and changed to reflect the fact that they were assisting to police what the British government viewed as part of their own nation. I am sure many will be glad to see an end to Operation Banner, both in the population of Northern Ireland and in the ranks of the British Army. I am certainly glad that it will be an end to a struggle pitting soldiers against civilians.
I would, however, wish that I thought that the lessons learned in Northern Ireland have been studied by the US Army and are being applied in Iraq. I think that they may be, but I fear it is too little too late. Only time will tell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Banner
http://www.operationbanner.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6923421.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2138447,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2007/jul/31/northernireland?picture=330305298
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/ulster/article2819591.ece
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/article2773945.ece
