Call of Cthulhu

The recently returned vet describes how a senior British officer explained his army’s philosophy: “We stay back until they become very bold and over-extend themselves. Then we jump out, counterattack and drive them back.”

“That’s how the Brits lost the American Revolution,” the vet observed. “The Iraqi insurgents avoid direct contact until they’re ready to engage on their terms at their time.”

Just before he came home, one Brit battalion was moved to the mean killing field of Baghdad – where he notes that “they better seriously change their style of doing things if they want to stay alive.”

“What's your view on Poland’s (2,460 troops) and Italy’s (3,000) threat to follow Spain’s pullout from Iraq?” I asked him.

“No big deal,” he replied, “because they don’t bring much to the party. We had to take An Najaf two times, once from Saddam and once from Sadr. We ended up paying in blood twice for the same real estate while the Poles and Spanish (1,300) let one of the most peaceful areas in Iraq go to hell.”

“Many of our coalition partners have yet to learn you can’t hunker down in mud forts and expect insurgents to kick back,” says another good soldier, who’s been working with coalition troops for almost a year. “For example, a Bulgarian...leader, fed up with being mortared night after night, asked his Polish commander why his unit wasn’t sending out patrols to kill the attackers. The Pole replied, ‘Well ... it’s very dangerous out there.’ By giving up the initiative, the Poles have allowed the insurgents to determine where and when they will strike.”

According to this source, the problem isn’t just with the Poles: “When Spain bugged out, sadly the Hondurans (368) and Dominicans (302) followed. These guys were fierce fighters like the El Salvadorians (361), who fortunately stayed. As for the Spanish, they left with every bullet they brought.”

[snip]

...the Japanese (240) are doing a great job. And anyone planning to shoot at a Bulgarian (480) will find himself dead before he takes aim. Mongolians (160) have also proven their steel, and the Australians are superb, while the Ukrainians’ (1,600) performance is mixed.

...if the Brits, Poles and Italians would rather leave than take the initiative, the consensus is: let them pack their coolers, teapots and beach umbrellas and go home.