Past Talks : February 2025
“Iraq 2003 – Operation TELIC – Planning, Invading, Consequences”, by Alan Lawson
As you will observe by the title alone, this talk by Alan Lawson is not a straightforward subject – it is nevertheless very interesting, but the subject was, and is still, very complex.
To put it in some sort of perspective Alan opened by giving us a brief history of the region. Iraq, as we know it now, was historically known as Mesopotamia – the cradle of civilisation. The name Iraq emerged after the 7th century AD. Within Iraq is an area recognised as the world’s earliest civilisation, marking the beginning of urbanisation, written language and monumental architecture. Iraq definitely has a place in world history. On a lighter note, familiar names that a we can also associate with the region are Sinbad the Sailor, Alibaba and more – can you now picture the scene?
Iraq is extensively desert, even though it was once fertile farm land. Nature itself made many changes long, long ago, but the hand of man has also contributed to desertification significantly, through frequent conflict and the destruction of irrigation systems.
In more recent history, the Ottoman Empire sided with Germany during World War 1, and backed the losing side. It was decided that the vast Ottoman empire should be partitioned, resulting in the enormous conglomeration of territories and peoples being divided into several new states. Western Powers such as Britain and France dominated the Middle East and the modern Arab world was created. Winston Churchill set up the Arab Government and the Royal family. Needless to say, there was resistance to these influences and the RAF kept the peace by suppressing revolts throughout the 1920s and up to World War II.
In the 1970s coups became almost common-place and the Royal Family was murdered in the process. Ultimately Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979 and his despotic, deadly reign became entrenched. In 1990 he initiated the invasion of his ally Kuwait, resulting in the first Gulf War. This was defeated by a US led multinational coalition and the UN placed sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. It is notable that Saddam Hussein strengthened his power base by employing only family members in all senior roles.
He also continued harsh and deadly suppression of the Kurds and Shi’i Arabs who were uprising against his now notorious regime.
Meanwhile, al Qaeda launched the 11 September 2001 coordinated islamic terrorist attacks against New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the failed airliner attack that crashed in Pennsylvania. Newly elected President George W. Bush claimed that Saddam Hussein posed a genuine threat to the USA by supporting terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda, in addition to possessing weapons of mass destruction that could be used against the USA. George Bush decided to make disarming of Iraq a high priority and the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding that Iraq should allow weapons inspectors back into the country. In 2003 George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair (“I will be with you whatever”) declared that Iraq was hindering the inspection process and decided to invade.
Unbeknown to Saddam Hussein, our speaker, Alan Lawson was a TA (Territorial Army) Captain, and in 2002 was called up for service (which was the first time since the Suez Crisis that call-up had been initiated) and he was sent to Northwood to start planning the campaign.
It was of course an American led campaign, divided into four phases:
- Deter/Engage; 2. Service Initiative; 3. Decisive Operations; 4. Transition
Simple. The US policy was to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Despite the weapons inspectors declaring that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, George Bush and Tony Blair told us all that Saddam Hussein was so cunning that everything had been hidden and the threats were not false.
You may recall that one of the leading weapons inspectors was Dr David Kelly, who stated in a BBC TV interview that reference to Iraqi biological weapons being deployed within 45 minutes was included in the report at the insistence of Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s Director of Communications. This revelation did not go down well and Dr Kelly purportedly committed suicide a day or two later – an investigation was never carried out.
In fact some piles of very rusty shells from the 1990 Gulf War, containing mustard gas, were discovered and safely destroyed, but that was all.
Alan’s role in planning for the invasion had a very logistical slant which is generally entirely overlooked when we read newspaper reports of such events. For example, around 50,000 UK personnel were sent to Kuwait – many of whom were TA soldiers called up. Water tankers were an essential requirement, so large numbers had to be hired. It took between 8 and 9 weeks to make it all happen (and much of the kit was just dumped afterwards).
Having been called up, Alan was given two days training at Catterick before being embarked on a C-17 transport off to Kuwait. One of the many problems encountered was that on retirement, several soldiers take civilian jobs in the military. On being called-up, back into service, it left a massive vacuum of people in critical supporting roles being moved out virtually overnight, leaving almost no-one in place to implement vital tasks – for example body armour was being distributed with the ceramic plates missing.
The actual fighting war lasted 20+ days, instead of the planned 129 days.
Alan was fascinated to walk into a captured hangar to see very forlorn looking Iraqi Air Force Hawker Sea Furies still in residence. Similarly, it was commonplace to see Iraqi tanks come under attack and being destroyed, while the tank crews themselves were sitting comfortably looking on from a position of safety, some distance away.
Most Iraqi soldiers in the south simply ran away and soldiers in Basra melted, invisibly into the civilian population.
George Bush declared the war had been won on the 1st May 2003. Phase 4 – Transition was now the final task. The redeployment of a population of 2 million Iraqis was placed under the responsibility of 10,000 soldiers, of which 1,000 were armed soldiers to maintain the peace, while 9,000 were in logistical roles, for which the UN required the UK to provide water and similar essentials.
Alan tells us that In reality, the US made spectacular mis-judgements on how the population would behave on being liberated. The US had learnt nothing from history and their own experience. For example, the Iraqi Police simply stopped policing. Previously every single thing was under strict control and surveillance. Now that the war was finished there was utter chaos, when everything that could be stolen was stolen. To say that looting was rife understates the situation. There was no local discipline, no control, no organisation whatever. What remained of Iraqi authorities recommend that a few people should be hung to stop the looting and to set an example, but of course it did to happen.
Discarded weapons were everywhere and heaps of artillery shells were seen as scrap metal once the volatile contents had been exposed and tipped out.
The outcome was that a CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) was set-up to establish all the principal functions necessary to run a country. Alan’s Colonel was made Governor of the area and Alan found himself running the Basra Bank. Each month Alan received $30 million to manage and disburse responsibly. All the previous Iraqi currency displaying the face of Saddam Hussein was withdrawn and burnt.
Saddam Hussein himself had managed to disappear and stay in hiding until December 2003. When he was discovered and captured, the local population went crazy and continuously fired their weapons into the air, resulting considerable damage to people and property from falling bullets.
Most unfortunately, but not entirely surprisingly, the previously dominant Sunni population were all murdered in Basra. It was not a good time, to say the least. The US was convinced that Iraq would not fall apart, but would quickly pick up the threads of freedom. They were so wrong.
The aftermath of the war lasted until 2011, when US troops were withdrawn, by which time Alan was no longer in the Army and had returned to Iraq as a civilian to continue the work. In the event he was awarded the campaign medal twice, once for Army service and once for civilian service.
An interesting and alarming picture of typical life at the time was shown by Alan through a film clip taken from inside an Army vehicle under attack from IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) and believe me it is frightening. Military contractors had to relearn so, so many lessons, such as always park vehicles facing a wall, so that the radiators were less likely to be damaged by explosions that immobilised the vehicle!
Was it all worth it? Alan says a definite No. For all his faults, Saddam Hussein broadly kept “peace” in the area.
What of the future for Iraq peace? Alan says a definite No, most unlikely.
It was an expensive affair in all respects and as always, truth was the first casualty.
Thank you Alan Lawson for an edifying view of what really happened beyond the ‘official’ stories that were fed to the general public.