Dave Hill's Big Britain

Basra Handover: Views Of The World

And so, four-and-a-half years later, we've handed control of Basra back to Iraqis. The Beeb invites readers' responses. Tom from Toronto offers sarcasm:

"The British handed over Basra to the Iranians...Well done."

Then there's Australian Arthur Clampitt:

"I suspect that within a few months Basra will be taken over by the same hoods that would have taken over if the British had left on day one."

And from Tehran, Harroot Azarian:

"Just another step closer towards the Islamic Republic of Southern Iraq!!!! What a balls up!!!"

Hardly a scientific survey. But does British public opinion differ?

Afghanistan: Are We Winning?

From the Blackpool Gazette:

"Heartfelt tributes were today paid to a Fylde soldier killed in Afghanistan. Sgt Lee Johnson, who served with the 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, died in the early hours of Saturday as troops continued their push to take the town of Musa Qala, in Helmand province. The 33-year-old Weeton-based soldier was killed when an explosion hit his vehicle...Sgt Johnson's commanding officer paid tribute to the father-of-two as 'one of life's great gems' while it was today revealed he was due to be married next summer."

From Simon Jenkins in the Guardian:

"The whole Helmand expedition has from the start been a suicide mission. Since last year, 81 British troops have died and untold numbers been maimed for life...British soldiers should never be sent to fight and die because ministers will not face a simple truth. As for Britain's politicians mouthing hypocrisies about 'our brave boys', they are a disgrace. When asked recently what he thought of the Helmand expedition, the Tory leader David Cameron shrugged and replied, 'We can't just stand by and do nothing.' That is Britain's post-imperial disease in a nutshell. Do anything, however stupid."

Stupid for years to come, apparently. But how best to stop?

"Invisible Heroes"

I've filed a piece for The Guardian's Family section - the one mentioned here - about service families. It's based largely on two interviews. As always, space constraints have obliged me to leave out a lot of good material. I hope no one thinks it out of order for me to share a little of it here. A feature of the two conflicts Britain is presently engaged in is the low profiles they have. This is largely because they've both become bad news stories - Iraq, is a disaster, Afghanistan looks intractable. But it's also because the British military tends to have a low profile in British life generally.

For many service personnel and their loved ones this seems a reflection on public indifference and compares poorly with America. One of the British couples I spoke to told me about a holiday they took to Florida. Visiting Sea World, they learned that US service men and women received VIP passes and at one point during the show - the killer whale bit - the announcer asked if any were in the audience. A few stood and were applauded and embraced as the Star Spangled Banner rang out. The announcer then asked if any allied military personnel were present. The British soldier, who'd just returned from Afghanistan, stood and received the same appreciation from the crowd.

Not surprisingly, he was moved. It wouldn't have been the same back home. "If I showed myself at Alton Towers," he joked, "I'd probably get kicked out."

Remembering

Royal Anglians & Robert Wyatt

I'm researching a piece just now about the everyday lives of forces families. The other day, Five Live covered the return from Afghanistan of the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment. Nine fewer came back than went out. Those who survived some savage fighting with the Taliban were met at their Pirbright base by members of their families, including a mother who described the soliders as "invisible heroes" - a comment on the lack of obvious public recognition for what British military personnel have been through in Helmand province and also in Iraq.

You don't have to have been in favour of either of those unpopular wars to sympathise with that mother's argument. I certainly do. And there's a very marked contrast with the passions stirred by the Falklands war, whichever side of the argument you were on. I was reminded of these when reading an interview with Robert Wyatt in today's Telegraph and of the heartbreaking song he recorded at the time.

It is possible to oppose wars yet, at the same time, feel for those waging them at the dangerous end. Lest we were forgetting...