Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. (British withdrawal from Iraq)

[Taxloss]

"Where they make a wilderness, they call it peace."

-- Tacitus, Agricola



We didn't need to go in ...

Question: Would the United States go to war without Great Britain?

Mr Rumsfeld: "This is a matter that most of the senior officials in the government discuss with the UK on a daily or every-other-day basis. And I had a good visit with the Minister of Defence of the UK about an hour ago.

Their situation is distinctive to their country, and they have a government that deals with a parliament in their way, a distinctive way.

And what will ultimately be decided is unclear as to their role; that is to say, their role in the event that a decision is made to use force.

There's the second issue of their role in a post-Saddam Hussein reconstruction process or stabilisation process, which would be a different matter.

And I think until we know what the resolution is, we won't know the answer as to what their role will be and to the extent they're able to participate in the event the president decides to use force, that would obviously be welcomed.

To the extent they're not, there are workarounds and they would not be involved, at least in that phase of it."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2842943.stm

We didn't want to go in ...

'Million' march against Iraq war

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of London to voice their opposition to military action against Iraq.

Police said it was the UK's biggest ever demonstration with at least 750,000 taking part, although organisers put the figure closer to two million.

... Why did we go in?

They came as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a speech warning of "bloody consequences" if Iraq was not confronted, directly addressed those marching.

He did not "seek unpopularity as a badge of honour", he said, "but sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction".

"THE PRICE OF LEADERSHIP AND THE COST OF CONVICTION": 132 dead in a needless war of choice.

Private Luke Simpson, from the 1st Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment, was killed in a roadside bomb attack on 9 February about five miles outside of Basra.
The 21-year-old from Howden, East Yorks, was returning to his base from a routine patrol when the device detonated close to the vehicle he was driving.

His commanding officer, Lt Col Andrew Jackson, said Private Simpson stood out as a young soldier with the highest personal and professional credentials.

"He had the potential to go far and his dedication to duty, personal pride in soldiering and selfless commitment to his comrades is an inspiration to us all," he said.

Second Lt Jonathan Carlos Bracho-Cooke from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment was killed in the southern part of Basra on 5 February.
The patrol in which he was travelling was hit by a roadside bomb which also wounded a number of Iraqi civilians near the US consulate in the city.

Second Lieutenant Bracho-Cooke, 24, from Hove, East Sussex, was described by his commanding officer as "bright, enthusiastic and charismatic".

The "promising" young officer was due to marry his fiancee Laura in a wedding planned for August, a eulogy released by the Ministry of Defence said.

JANUARY 2007

Private Michael Tench, 18, from A Company, 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry, was killed in the northern part of Basra on 21 January after the patrol vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a roadside bomb.
Private Tench, who was from Sunderland, was described by the MoD as a "young man with so much promise".

Kingsman Alexander Green, from 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died after being shot by small arms fire whilst on a task in the Hayy Al Muhandisn District of Basra City.

Kingsman Green described as "all that a kingsman could hope to be"

Kingsman Green, 21, from Warrington, had already been identified by his colleagues and commanders as a professional soldier with real leadership and command potential.

His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Hutchinson described him as an "inspiration".

"If you could capture in one man all that a Kingsman could hope to be, you would struggle to come closer to the mark than him", he said.

He leaves behind a two-year-old son.

Sergeant Wayne Rees, from the 19 Light Brigade, the Queen's Royal Lancers, was killed in a road crash while on patrol in the Maysan province of southern Iraq.
The 36-year-old, from Nottingham, was a loving family man with a mischievous wit, colleagues said.

His squadron leader, Major Martin Todd, said the regiment had lost not only a charismatic and wholly professional soldier but also one of its most ebullient and best loved characters.

He was engaged and had an 11-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son.

DECEMBER 2006

Sergeant Graham Hesketh, from the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was killed by a roadside bomb while taking part in a routine patrol in Basra City in southern Iraq.
The Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle which he was travelling in was targeted by a roadside bomb.

The 35-year-old, born in Liverpool and who grew up in Runcorn, Cheshire, had a fiancee who is a soldier also serving in Iraq.

He had a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son.

NOVEMBER 2006

Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth, of the Parachute Regiment was shot during a "search and detention" operation in Basra. He was taken to a nearby military hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Four British service personnel were killed following an attack on a boat patrol in southern Iraq on 12 November.
They were named as: Warrant Officer Lee Hopkins, 35, of the Royal Corps of Signals; Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, of the Intelligence Corps; Corporal Ben Nowak, 27, of 45 Commando Royal Marines; and Marine Jason Hylton, 33, of 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.

A further three suffered serious injuries in the attack on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra.

Kingsman Jamie Hancock, 19, of the 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died after coming under attack from small arms fire while on sentry duty on 6 November 2006.
The incident took place at the Old State Building, a coalition forces base in central Basra City.

Kingsman Hancock, who lived with his soldier brother near Wigan, Greater Manchester, was deployed to Iraq on 21 October after volunteering for a six-month tour of the country.

His company commander, Major Chris Job, described him as an "energetic and enthusiastic individual who lived for the Army and had a very promising career ahead of him".

OCTOBER 2006

Lieutenant Tom Tanswell, 27, of 58 Battery 12 Regiment Royal Artillery, was killed in a road accident just outside Shaibah Logistics Base near the city of Basra, southern Iraq, on 27 October 2006.
The Londoner joined the Army in 2004 after gaining a degree in management and marketing from the University of Manchester, and working as the area manager for a major supermarket group.

In Iraq, he was a multiple commander, responsible for 12 men, manning three vehicles. The MoD said he often escorted Danish Military Police and reconstruction teams and was well-liked by his peers.

His commanding officer in Iraq, Major Marcus Tivey, said: "He was leading from the front when he was killed, which typified the way he conducted himself.

"Prior to deploying to Iraq Tom had been praised by his superiors on numerous exercises, and while on operations he had made his mark as a rising star."

Lance Corporal Dennis Brady was hit in an "indirect fire attack" at the Shatt Al-Arab Hotel after mortars landed inside the UK base in Basra, southern Iraq, on 1 October.
The 37-year-old, from Cumbria, was a regular reservist from the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached to the 1st Battalion of the Light Infantry.

L/Cpl Brady grew up in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where he lived with his wife, Zoe.

He left the regular Army in 2004 and worked as a firefighter before volunteering to return to the military as a reservist.

His commanding officer, Lt Col Johnny Bowron, said: "His loss will be keenly felt, and the battalion has lost a trusted member and a real friend."

SEPTEMBER 2006

Gunner Lee Thornton died on 7 September from injuries sustained in a shooting two days earlier at Al-Qurna, north of Basra.
He was transferred to a military hospital in Germany but his injuries were too severe to survive, the Ministry of Defence said.

He was serving with 58 Battery, 12 Regiment Royal Artillery.

Family friend Jim Radcliffe described Gunner Thornton, who was engaged to be married, as a man "full of life and energy".

Gunner Stephen Wright and Gunner Samuela Vanua died in a roadside explosion near Ad Dayr, north of Basra, on 4 September. Both were members of 12 Regiment Royal Artillery.

Gunner Wright, 20, from Leyland in Lancashire, had joined the Army aged 16 after four years as a cadet.

His commanding officer said Gunner Wright had "very much come of age in Iraq".

Lt Col Jon Campbell said: "I was struck by Gunner Wright's confidence, growing maturity and belief in himself."

Gunners Stephen Wright and Samuela Vanua were killed by a roadside bomb

Col Campbell said he got to know Gunner Vanua, a 27-year-old Fijian, in July when they had been on patrol together.

"I was impressed by his excellent attitude, infectious cheerfulness, conduct and confidence," he said.

AUGUST 2006

Corporal Matthew Cornish, 29, of the 1st Battalion The Light Infantry, died after a mortar attack on a Basra base in the early hours of Tuesday, 1 August.
The father-of-two from Yorkshire was the first soldier killed in an attack on a UK military base in Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence said his deployments included Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone and Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

"Matthew was a great soldier, a fine friend and a marvellous husband and father," said his Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Bowron.

JULY 2006

Corporal John Cosby, 27, of the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, died after sustaining serious wounds in a firefight after troops were sent to capture suspected insurgents in Garmat Ali, north of Basra, on Saturday, 15 July. Another soldier was slightly wounded during the exchange of fire.
Cpl Cosby, who was known as George to his friends, was born in Belfast and lived there until he was seven when he moved to Exeter with his family.

The MoD said the soldier's "experience, enthusiasm and style" during his time in Iraq had made him an obvious choice to be made a team leader in the Brigade Surveillance Company.

MAY 2006

Lieutenant Tom Mildinhall , 26, and Lance Corporal Paul Farrelly, 27, both of the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards (The Welsh Cavalry), were killed when a Land Rover they were travelling in as part of a routine patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in north west Basra on 28 May.
Lt Mildinhall, from south London, had a younger brother at university and was the son of a retired army officer. He completed his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in April 2004 and was described as "thoroughly capable" by his commanding officer.

L/Cpl Farrelly, known as "Fas", from Rhyl in Wales, was married and had three young children. Judged top recruit during basic training at the Army Training Regiment in Winchester, he was described as "knowledgeable, quick-thinking and tough".

Private Joseva Lewaicei, 25, and Private Adam Morris, 19, from the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, were killed in a roadside bomb explosion just outside the southern city of Basra on 13 May.
Pte Lewaicei, a father of one who was born and grew up in Fiji, was described as a "universally popular" character. Private Morris, who was single and lived with his mother in Leicester, was said to have had a "fine career ahead of him".

Five British troops were killed in a helicopter crash in Basra on 6 May.
They were named as: Wing Commander John Coxen, the most senior British officer killed in Iraq, who was 46 and based at RAF Benson; Flight Lieutenant Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill, 32, who was the first female member of British forces killed in action in Iraq and was also based at RAF Benson; Lieutenant Commander Darren Chapman, a 40-year-old father of three, of 847 Naval Air Squadron in Yeovilton; Captain David Dobson, 27, of 847 Naval Air Squadron; and Marine Paul Collins, 21, of 847 Naval Air Squadron.
Flt Lt Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill

Defence Secretary Des Browne said the causes of the crash remained unclear but offered his "heartfelt sympathies" to the families of those who had died.

APRIL 2006

Lieutenant Richard Palmer, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, died after the vehicle he was commanding was caught in a roadside explosion near Ad Dayr, north-west of Basra, on 15 April.
Lt Palmer, 27, from Ware, Hertfordshire, was "widely regarded by soldier and officer alike as a star of the future," said his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Edwards.

FEBRUARY 2006

Captain Richard Holmes and Private Lee Ellis, both from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment and attached to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, died in an attack on the outskirts of Amara, in southern Iraq, on 28 February.
They were part of a routine patrol that was targeted by a roadside bomb.

The soldiers' commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel James Chiswell, described Cpt Holmes as "charming, compassionate and bright" and one of the Parachute Regiment's "rising stars". He said Pte Ellis was "bright, enthusiastic and immensely popular" and "displayed all the qualities of a first class paratrooper".

Trooper Carl Smith, 23, from the 9th/12th Lancers, died after a crash on the outskirts of Basra in southern Iraq on 2 February. He had only been on duty in Iraq for 11 days.

JANUARY 2006

On 31 January Corporal Gordon Pritchard of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards became the 100th British soldier to die on Iraq-related operations. The 31-year-old died as a result of injuries from a blast in Umm Qasr, Basra province. A number of other personnel were injured in the same incident.
Cpl Pritchard's parents said in a statement that he was "the epitome of a modern, professional soldier" who was "extremely proud" of his regiment.

Lance Corporal Allan Douglas of the 7th Armoured Brigade, serving with the 1st Battalion The Highlanders, was killed by small arms fire while on patrol in Maysan province, southern Iraq, on 30 January. No other UK personnel were injured in the incident.

NOVEMBER 2005

Sergeant John Jones, 31, from Birmingham, who served with the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was killed in a roadside bomb attack on 20 November in Basra while on routine patrol. Four other soldiers were injured, one seriously. Sgt Jones was described as a "fantastic dad".

OCTOBER 2005

Sergeant Christian Hickey, 30, of the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, was killed on 18 October by a roadside bomb in Basra while on a routine patrol.

The senior military police investigator in Iraq, Captain Ken Masters, 40, was found dead at the British base in Basra on 15 October in circumstances the Ministry of Defence said were not regarded as suspicious. Capt Masters had served with the Royal Military Police since 1981.

SEPTEMBER 2005

Major Matthew Bacon was killed in an attack in Basra, in southern Iraq, on 11 September when a roadside bomb struck the armoured vehicle he was travelling in.
Maj Bacon, 34, from London, was serving in Iraq with the Headquarters Multi National Division South East.

Fusilier Donal Meade, 20, from Plumstead in south east London, and Fusilier Stephen Manning, 22, from Erith in Kent, were killed by a roadside bomb on 5 September.
The men were from the 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, which is based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

They had been travelling in a convoy which was hit about five miles east of Shaibah airbase, in Basra province.

JULY 2005

Second Lieutenant Richard Shearer, 26, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, Private Leon Spicer, also 26, and Private Phillip Hewett, 21, both from Tamworth, Staffordshire, died in a roadside bomb blast in Amara, north of Basra, on 16 July.
The troops were patrolling in the central Risaala district when the device was detonated.

All three came from the 1st Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment, based at Tidworth in Wiltshire.

JUNE 2005

Signaller Paul Didsbury, 18, of the Royal Signals, died in a shooting accident on 29 June at Basra airport base, southern Iraq.
It is understood he accidentally discharged his own weapon. Signaller Didsbury, from Blackpool in Lancashire, was serving with the 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support).

MAY 2005

Lance Corporal Alan Brackenbury, 21, died when a military convoy he was travelling in was hit by an explosion in Amara, north of Basra, on 29 May. Iraqi police said the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb.
The soldier, from East Yorkshire, was serving with the King's Royal Hussars.

Guardsman Anthony Wakefield, a 24-year-old Coldstream Guard, from the 12th Mechanised Brigade, died on 2 May from injuries sustained when a roadside bomb exploded in Amara the day before.
The married father-of-three from Newcastle was on patrol in a two-vehicle convoy when it was attacked.

MARCH 2005

Private Mark Dobson, 41, from County Durham, who served with the Tyne-Tees Regiment, was found dead in his accommodation at Basra air station. His death is not thought to be a result of hostile action.

JANUARY 2005

On Sunday 30 January 10 servicemen were killed when an RAF Hercules transport aircraft crashed around 18.5 miles (30km) north west of Baghdad on a flight from the Iraqi capital to Balad airbase. It was the largest single loss of life suffered by the British military in Iraq since operations began in 2003.

The dead were named as: Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall, 39, a staff officer with Headquarters Strike Command based at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, who was on temporary detachment to Iraq; Flight Lieutenant David Stead, 35, a pilot with 47 Squadron based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire; Flight Lieutenant Andrew Smith, 25, a pilot with 47 Squadron; Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, 35, a pilot with 47 Squadron; Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, 42, who served with 47 Squadron; Chief Technician Richard Brown, 40, who served with 47 Squadron; Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson, 34, who served with 47 Squadron; Sergeant Robert O'Connor, 38, who served with 47 Squadron; Corporal David Williams, 37, who served with 47 Squadron; and Acting Lance Corporal Steven Jones, 25, a soldier with the Royal Signals.

A Board of Inquiry has said the cause of the crash is likely to be enemy fire, which caused an explosion in the right wing fuel tank. Investigators said the aircraft was vulnerable to fire from the ground as it was flying low in daylight.

DECEMBER 2004


Sergeant Paul Connolly, 33, who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was found dead with a gunshot wound at Shaibah Logistic Base, south west of Basra, on 26 December. The death of Sgt Connolly, from Crawley in West Sussex, is not thought to be a result of "hostile action".

NOVEMBER 2004

Private Pita Tukatukawaqa, 27, a Fijian serving with the Black Watch, died when a roadside bomb hit his Warrior armoured vehicle near Camp Dogwood on 8 November.

Three Black Watch troops from Fife in Scotland - Sergeant Stuart Gray, 31; Private Paul Lowe, 19; and Private Scott McArdle, 22 - were killed while operating a vehicle checkpoint near Camp Dogwood on 5 November. A suicide bomber drove at the soldiers and detonated his device, and the unit then came under mortar fire. A civilian interpreter, who was not named, was also killed.

OCTOBER 2004

Staff Sergeant Denise Rose, 34, from Liverpool, of the Royal Military Police's Special Investigation Branch, was found dead from a gunshot at the Army base in the Shatt-al-Arab Hotel in Basra on 31 October. The first death of a female soldier from the UK in Iraq since operations began was not believed to be the result of "hostile action".

A Black Watch soldier, Private Kevin McHale, 27, from Fife, was killed on 29 October when his Warrior armoured vehicle overturned after the bridge it was crossing collapsed. The MoD said the death was not believed to be the result of "hostile action". Three other soldiers were injured.

SEPTEMBER 2004

Corporal Marc Taylor, 27, from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, serving with the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, and Gunner David Lawrence, 25, from Walsall in the West Midlands, of the Royal Artillery, died after a convoy was ambushed south-west of Basra on 28 September.

Fusilier Stephen Jones, 22, from Denbeigh, serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, died in a road traffic accident near Amara on 10 September.

AUGUST 2004

Lance Corporal Paul Thomas, 29, from Welshpool in Powys, serving with 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry, was killed in a gunfight with insurgents in Basra on 17 August.

On 12 August, Private Marc Ferns, 21, from Glenrothes in Fife, died after an improvised bomb attack in the southern city of Basra. He was on his second tour of duty with the Black Watch regiment.

Private Lee O'Callaghan, 20, from London, of the 1st Battalion Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment, was killed in Basra during an attack by insurgents on 9 August.

On 4 August, Private Christopher Rayment, 22, was killed at Amara in what the MoD said was a "tragic accident". He came from London and was serving with the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment.

JULY 2004

Flight Lieutenant Kristian Gover was killed in a helicopter accident at Basra International Airport on 19 July. Aged 30, he was a Puma helicopter pilot serving with 33 Squadron, based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

JUNE 2004

Fusilier Gordon Gentle, 19, of the 1st Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers was killed and two other soldiers injured when a roadside bomb went off next to their convoy in Basra on 28 June.

FEBRUARY 2004

On 12 February, Corporal Richard Ivell, 29, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was killed in a vehicle accident at Shaibah Logistics Base. Cpl Ivell was from near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

JANUARY 2004

A "tragic accident" claimed the life of Sapper Robert Thomson, 22, from West Lothian, in Basra on 31 January.

Rifleman Vincent Windsor, 23, from Oxfordshire, serving with the Royal Green Jackets, died in a road accident at Amara on 21 January.

Lance Corporal Andrew Craw, 21, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, died on 7 January as the result of what the MoD said was a "tragic incident" on a training range near Basra. He was from Clackmannanshire.

A road accident in Baghdad on 1 January 2004 left two British soldiers dead. They were Major James Stenner, 30, from Monmouthshire, of the Welsh Guards, and Sergeant Norman Patterson, 28, from Staffordshire, of the Cheshire Regiment, although both were understood by the BBC to be serving with the SAS when they died.

NOVEMBER 2003

On 6 November, Private Ryan Thomas, 18, of the Royal Regiment of Wales, was killed in a road accident in Basra. Pte Thomas was from Resolven, near Neath, in Glamorgan.

OCTOBER 2003

Corporal Ian Plank, a 31-year-old from Poole in Dorset serving with the Royal Marines, was killed by "hostile fire" during an operation on 31 October.

SEPTEMBER 2003

Sergeant John Nightingale, a Territorial Army soldier, of 217 Transport Squadron, died in an incident on 23 September while serving at Shaibah, near Basra. The MoD said the death of the 32-year-old from Leeds, which is under investigation, involved a firearm but was not the result of enemy action.

AUGUST 2003

Fusilier Russell Beeston, a Territorial Army soldier in the 52nd Lowland Regiment, was killed on 27 August after a crowd surrounded his patrol vehicle in Ali As Sharqi, southern Iraq, and opened fire with guns and rocket-propelled grenades. He was 26 and from Govan.

Three soldiers from the Royal Military Police were killed driving in central Basra on 23 August when a group of men in a truck drew up alongside and opened fire with what witnesses said were machine guns. The dead were named as: Major Matthew Titchener, 32, from Southport on Merseyside, the commanding officer of 150 Provost Company, Royal Military Police; Company Sergeant Major Colin Wall, 34, from Crawleyside, County Durham; and Corporal Dewi Pritchard, 35, a Territorial Army soldier from Bridgend in Wales.

On 14 August, Captain David Jones, 29, from Louth in Lincolnshire and serving with the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, was killed during a bomb attack on a military ambulance in Basra that was delivering humanitarian aid. Two other soldiers were injured in the incident.

A Territorial Army soldier, Private Jason Smith, from Hawick in Roxburghshire, of 52nd Lowland Regiment, died on 13 August in southern Iraq. A coroner said the 32-year-old soldier died of heat exhaustion after his body temperature soared to 41.1C (106F).

JULY 2003

Captain James Linton, 43, of 40 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, collapsed and died on 18 July after a training run at a military base in Az Zubayr, southern Iraq.

JUNE 2003

Sgt Hamilton-Jewell died in an attack on a police station

Six Royal Military Police soldiers were killed at a civilian police station in Al Majar al-Kabir, near Basra, on 24 June. They were: Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell, 41, from Chessington in Surrey; Corporal Russell Aston, 30, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire; Corporal Paul Long, 24, from Colchester in Essex; Corporal Simon Miller, 21, from Washington in Tyne and Wear; Lance-Corporal Benjamin Hyde, 23, from Northallerton in Yorkshire; and Lance-Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, from near Bala in Gwynedd.

MAY 2003

Leonard Harvey, 55, from Wattisham in Suffolk, a civilian member of the Defence Fire Service, died in a UK hospital on 22 May after falling ill in the Gulf.

On 19 May, Corporal David Shepherd, 34, an RAF policeman, died in Kuwait, believed to be from natural causes.

Gunner Duncan Pritchard, 22, serving with the RAF Regiment, died in hospital in the UK on 8 May, following injuries sustained in a traffic accident in Iraq.

On 6 May, Private Andrew Kelly, 18, from Tavistock in Devon and serving with the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, died in a shooting accident at his barracks near Basra.

APRIL 2003

Lance Corporal James McCue, 27, from Paisley in Renfrewshire and serving with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was killed in an explosion in southern Iraq on 7 April, the cause of which has not been made public.

Fusilier Kelan Turrington, 18, was killed in action in Basra during an assault on an enemy trench.

Also on 6 April, Lance Corporal Ian Malone, 28, and Zimbabwean Piper Christopher Muzvuru, 21, both of the 1st Battalion the Irish Guards, were killed in action in Basra.

Lance Corporal Karl Shearer and Lieutenant Alexander Tweedie, 25, both of the Household Cavalry Regiment, were killed when their armoured vehicle overturned on 1 April. Lieutenant Tweedie died from injuries in an Edinburgh hospital around 20 days after the accident.

MARCH 2003

Staff Sgt Muir was married and had a four-year-old son

Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, 32, of the Army School of Ammunition, Royal Logistic Corps, was killed during an operation to deal with explosives in southern Iraq on 31 March. He was from Romsey in Hampshire.

Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, 28, of 212 Signal Squadron, was killed in a road accident in Kuwait on 30 March.

Marine Christopher Maddison, 24, of 9 Assault Squadron Royal Marines, was killed in action during fighting in the Basra area on 30 March.

Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull died in a mistaken attack by US aircraft

Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, 25, of The Blues & Royals, Household Cavalry Regiment, was killed on 28 March when American A10 aircraft mistakenly attacked a group of British light armoured vehicles near Basra.

Two soldiers of the Queen's Royal Lancers died when their Challenger 2 tank was hit by another Challenger 2 in fighting on 25 March. Corporal Stephen Allbutt, 35, was from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire and Trooper David Clarke, 19, from Littleworth in Staffordshire.

On 24 March, Sergeant Steven Roberts, 33, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, and serving with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, was killed while trying to quell a riot in Al Zubayr, near Basra.

Also on 24 March, Lance Corporal Barry Stephen, 31, from Perth and serving with the 1st Battalion The Black Watch, was killed in action near Az Zubayr.

Two soldiers serving with 33 Engineer Regiment - Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, from London, and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 33, from Essex - were reported missing and later confirmed as killed after an attack on British military vehicles in southern Iraq on 23 March.

Flight Lieutenant Kevin Main, 35, and Flight Lieutenant David Williams were both killed on 23 March when their RAF GR4 Tornado aircraft was downed by a US Patriot missile close to the Kuwaiti border.

On 22 March six British servicemen - and a member of the US Navy - died when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided over the northern Arabian Gulf. The dead of 849 Squadron Royal Navy were: Lieutenant Philip Green, 31, from Caythorpe, Lincolnshire; Lieutenant Tony King, 35, of Congresbury, Somerset; Lieutenant Marc Lawrence, 26, of Westgate, Kent; Lieutenant Philip West, 32, originally of Hoylake, Wirral; Lieutenant James Williams, 28, of Winchester, Hampshire; and Lieutenant Andrew Wilson, 36, of Devon.

On 21 March eight British servicemen - plus four US aircrew - died when a US Marine Corps Sea Knight helicopter crashed south of the Kuwait border. The Britons were: Colour Sergeant John Cecil, of the Royal Marines; Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Karl Evans, 24, from Llandudno, Conwy, and serving with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery; Captain Philip Guy, of the Royal Marines; Marine Sholto Hedenskog, of the Royal Marines; Sergeant Les Hehir, 34, of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery; Operator Mechanic (Communications) Second Class Ian Seymour, of the Royal Navy; Warrant Officer Second Class Mark Stratford, of the Royal Marines; and Major Jason Ward, 34, of the Royal Marines.

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3847051.stm
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4772729.stm

[Taxloss]

1. A kick before I go to bed. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. And, ironically, the quote was supposedly said by a Caledonian

probably not born all that far from Edinburgh, where Blair was born, as he resisted the mighty Roman Empire:

It was the recognised duty of the historian in those days not to permit battle to be joined till first the leaders on both sides had, in fitting phrase, harangued their troops. Tacitus gives us the speeches delivered on this occasion by Agricola to the legions, and by Galgacus to the Caledonians. He does not state in what language the latter spake, or who reported and interpreted his words to him, but nothing could be finer or more fitting than the speech of the barbarian leader to his soldiers. In terse, yet burning words, Galgacus denounces the ambition of Rome, and paints the miserable condition of the nations enslaved to her yoke: a condition, he adds, which they, the noblest of all the Britons, had never beheld, much less undergone.3 "There is now no nation beyond us," continues the Caledonian leader, "nothing save the billows and the rocks, and the Romans, still more savage, whose tyranny you will in vain appease by submission and concession. The devastators of the earth, when the land has failed to suffice their universal ravages, they explore even the ocean. If an enemy be wealthy, they are covetous; if he be poor, they become ambitious. Neither East nor West has contented them. Alone, of all men, they covet with equal rapacity the rich and the needy. Plunder, murder, and robbery, under false pretences they call ‘empire,’ and when they make a wilderness, they call it ‘peace.’"4

Tacitus himself might have pronounced this oration in the Forum. He could not in terser phrase or in more burning words have denounced the crimes of an empire which, built up in blood, was spreading effeminacy and serfdom over the earth. And had he ventured on so scathing a denunciation, the nations, east and west, would have clanked their chains in sympathetic response. But not a syllable of all this durst any one at that hour have uttered at Rome. If spoken but in a whisper, its echoes would speedily have reached the ears of the gloomy Domitian in the Palatine, and before the sound of the last words had died away, the head of the speaker would have rolled on the floor of the Mamertine. Tacitus, therefore, puts the speech into the mouth of Galgacus, and thunders it forth to the world from the foot of the Grampians.

History of the Scottish Nation

(I first found that on this website - but then I looked around it a bit, and found it claims a stationary earth and geocentric solar system!)

[Taxloss]

3. And Caledonian casualties outnumbered Roman dead by several orders of magnitude.

Worth bearing in mind, lookig again at that long list of British dead, how many Iraqis have died.