In an unprecedented statement that will be printed in the UK Daily Mail tomorrow, General Sir Richard Dannatt KCB CBE MC, the current Head of the British Army and Chief of the General Staff, has said that UK presence in Iraq is hindering and not helping peace in that country and they should withdraw. "Our presence exacerbates the security problems"
In reporting this story a few minutes ago, Sky News described this as "sensational". It totally overturns UK foreign policy and the stance of the UK government. Dannatt is not a retired military man nor one who has any record of being disaffected. It is a total break from the precedent that serving officers, not least one in such an elevated position, do not, ever, comment on government policy.
I am reporting this verbatim and neither I nor Sky News have yet to read the full article.
It is producing an astonished response from commentators. "It is nothing short of a seismic shift in the relations between the military and the government". It flies in the face of Tony Blair and the government's policies.
It is widely being speculated that it is difficult to see how Dannatt can remain in post. The only way that this can occur is that it has the unlikely support of the Secretary of State for Defence - which would be a major rift in the Cabinet.
It has been suggested that one of the motivators of this extraordinary statement is that it reflects the views of many less senior officers and the pressure has made Dannett take such extreme measures.
A devout Christian, I understand that Dannatt talks about the "moral vacuum" that our presence in Iraq creates and he gives recognition of the Muslim resentment of foreign presence in their countries.
The Government Opposition is jumping on this and will crucify Blair in Parliament over this frank rejection by the most senior army officer of their policies (this despite their own support for the war in Iraq).
I will keep you in touch as this story develops. I published this a few minutes ago on ePluribus Media, and will keep both sites informed as this story unfolds.
One piece of speculation by me: does this presage the October surprise that Rove has threatened that may come from your own Defence Department?
UPDATE Daily Mail article can be seen here under title "Army Chief Declares War on Blair". Please don't underestimate this because it is not a US event. It will resonate and I hope you Kossacks will help it to do so.
Further Breaking Update I speculated taht Dannatt may be out of a job tomorrow, except that Blair will first try to downplay his comments and sacking him will not help this process.
Now it has just been announced that Dannatt has been called to meet the Secretary of State for Defence, Des Brown, early tomorrow morning. (First spin: This is not major: there has been selective quoting from him and they deny the headline of the article. Here we go.So far, commentators are not buying the spin to downplay this event.
Friday Update
Despite General Dannatt being all over the media today to try and effect some damage control, he has shown remarkable integrity by remaining firmly behind the statements quoted in the Daily Mail.
His main line has been to say that there is no differebce between his position and that of the Prime Minister, but defended and not retracted the comments that he has made about Iraq.
The BBC beautifully analyises this position here. The crux of what they say is contained in this extract:
The easy test of that assertion is to imagine Sir Richard's remarks had come from the prime minister himself. They would have been explosive.
Imagine the prime minister had suggested - no matter how obliquely - that British troops were exacerbating security problems in Iraq and elsewhere.
That their withdrawal should start sometime soon, that ambitions for the country's future should be lowered and that the invasion's political aims may have been naïve.
It would have represented one of the greatest reversals in recent political history.
The story remains the top one on the British media, followed by the coroners ruling that the British journalist was unlawfully killed by troops in Iraq.
The effect is to make for a solid forty-eight hours of the British people being told that Iraq is a mess and we shouldn't be there and we shouldn't have gone there. Blair's embarrassment is extreme but he has been left with no option other than to declare his support for his Chief of General Staff.
Whilst those such as Drudge steadfastly ignore this story, Daily KOs has shown that once again it provides a unique amplifier for stories that other parts of the media would like to ignore. Thank you Kossacks for giving this your recommendations to make it visible and thanks to Londonbear and Jed and others who gave the story substance to fill out the information as the story broke.
What has been said by Gneeral Dannatt is highly significant is without doubt. If Iraq was not seen by the British people as an adventure that should never happened before, it is being seen as this now and there will be going back. I hope that this will rub off on those who are still undecided in the US as they contemplate the mid-term elections.
One key thing has happened as a result of this story breaking. Many active service troops have publicly come forward and declared their solid support for the general and their appreciation of his honest words.
"Bring Our Troops Home" is not the tired slogan of an ignored anti-war street protest any more. It is a demand of the mainstream opinion in the UK.
Thank you again, Kossacks.