>>> Some may recall I tend to point out the Britlanders' clunders a little more
than most. Between them and the Spanish, they should have agreed to stay home
several centuries ago and left the world alone. The following two articles
illustrate *why*. A<>E<>R <<<
>From The Free Republic
}}>Begin>}}
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Sandline boss blames Blair for carnage in Sierra Leone
Foreign Affairs Opinion (Published)
Source: Electric Telegraph
Published: 5/14/00 Author: Christina Lamb, Diplomatic Correspondent and Philip
Sherwell in Freetown
Posted on 05/13/2000 20:42:34 PDT by Miss Antiwar
The terror of Sierra Leone
THE head of Sandline, the British mercenary company at the centre of the arms
to Africa scandal, attacked Tony Blair's Government last night for plunging
Sierra Leone into a fresh bloodbath.
Lt Col Tim Spicer, whose company helped reinstate President Kabbah in 1998,
blamed Britain's insistence that the rebel leader Foday Sankoh be pardoned from
a death sentence and given a role in government for the current collapse of
order. Col Spicer said: "It was like giving the fox the keys to the chicken
coop. It was extraordinary, and anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the
cynical workings of [Sankoh's] Revolutionary United Front knew the peace accord
was doomed."
Dr Kayode Fayemi, one of the Nigerians present during the negotiations in Lome
which resulted in the July peace accord, said: "We called it the pact with the
devil. Western liberals in Britain have created this Frankenstein in the name
of so-called ethical foreign policy and they must now sort it out."
Last night, a Foreign Office official admitted: "It wasn't a perfect solution
to bring someone with his record into government, but it was the least bad of a
series of unwelcome options." However, Col Spicer claimed: "Thousands of lives
could have been saved and thousands of children would not have been maimed if
the Blair Government had not acted in such an unseemly rush to get a peace
accord at all costs."
He said the rush was caused by the Foreign Office's desperation to escape the
embarrassment of the arms to Africa scandal in which FO officials were found to
have known about Sandline's activities and their alleged arms embargo busting.
The pact with Sankoh is seen by many as part of a catalogue of foreign policy
blunders in dealing with the former colony.
Col Spicer also claimed that if the Government had not forced President Kabbah
to terminate their £6 million contract in 1998, Sandline would have stopped the
Christmas invasion of Freetown in which thousands were killed or mutilated and
4,000 children abducted.
Col Spicer said: "If we had stayed we could have completely defeated the RUF
and helped train up a proper army for Kabbah so he could defend himself in
future." He pointed out that using mercenaries such as Sandline would save
Britain large sums. "It was a darn sight cheaper for the British Government to
pay us than the £350 million it is costing us to maintain our troops and the UN
operation." Sandline received only £1 million from President Kabbah which,
according to Col Spicer, did not even meet their costs on the ground let alone
help pay for their defence during an official inquiry in which they were
eventually cleared.
Col Spicer is in discussions with the United Nations about returning to Sierra
Leone. "It's not just a question of wounded pride", he said. "We have
unfinished business. We could sort out the situation far more effectively
because we don't have to worry about focus groups or political discussions over
whether our actions are good for getting votes." It now emerges that Britain
also had a key role in forcing President Kabbah to end a previous contract with
Executive Outcomes, the South African mercenary company which, with just 350
men, kept the peace in 1996 and 1997, enabling elections to take place.
Ricko Visser who headed EO's maritime section in Sierra Leone, said: "Britain
and the US pressured Kabbah through the World Bank and IMF to end our contract.
We warned them that without us there would be a coup within six weeks and sure
enough there was and thousands more killed." Claiming that Sankoh commands
45,000 rebels - far above usual estimates of 10,000 - the Foreign Office
official added: "Do you reject the guy and condemn yourself to perpetual civil
war or make a deal with him?"
The Telegraph has learned that in the hurry to undo the damage caused to the
Government by the arms to Africa affair, British officials overrode objections
of other negotiators. Ignoring evidence that the rebels were only interested in
violence and looting, the British pressurised Mr Kabbah to make Sankoh vice-
president. With no guarantee that he would adhere to democratic principles, he
was placed in charge of the diamond fields and three of his lieutenants given
cabinet posts.
The British Army officer held hostage by the RUF for 11 days was freed last
night into the custody of UN forces. An SAS team was preparing to pick up Major
Andrew Harrison from eastern Sierra Leone.
{{<End<{{
AND ...
}}>Begin>}}
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum"
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posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
British troops face UN threat to shoot
Foreign Affairs Opinion (Published)
Source: Electric Telegraph
Published: 05/16/00 Author: Tim Butcher in Freetown and George Jones
Posted on 05/16/2000 07:23:24 PDT by Miss Antiwar
UNITED Nations peacekeepers from Nigeria have threatened to shoot British
soldiers in Sierra Leone after several days of growing tension between the two
allies.
Last night Gen Sir Charles Guthrie, the Chief of the Defence Staff, tried to
defuse the situation. He flew to the Nigerian commercial capital of Lagos from
Freetown after a two-day visit to assess how the British operation was working.
British troops have been told that they are allowed to shoot back at anyone who
fires at them. But senior officers were anxious to ensure that this did not
happen. Geoffrey Hoon, the Defence Secretary, promised yesterday that the
troops would not be drawn into the civil war. He told MPs that the soldiers,
backed by a Royal Navy force, would stay no longer than was necessary, but
refused to set a precise date for their withdrawal.
However, Britain is likely to come under increasing pressure to use its forces
to supply arms, food and water to troops loyal to the Sierra Leone government.
This will pose an acute foreign policy problem for the Government. Iain Duncan
Smith, the shadow defence secretary, accused the Government of allowing
"slippage" on the withdrawal timetable and not giving troops clear rules of
engagement.
With Special Forces operating in the countryside and Paratroops patrolling
Freetown and manning road blocks, Britain was "to all intents and purposes
running the day-to-day operation of UN forces", he said. The swift collapse in
relations between the allies underlines the sensitivity of the operation. The
tensions rose after the British bulldozed Nigerian bunkers when they took
responsibility for the area.
The Nigerians did not object when the plan was aired, but there is a growing
sense in Freetown that they resent the Paras' role in restoring order to a
battlefield in their backyard. The Nigerians have demanded a full list in
advance of every patrol and task to be carried out by the British forces. The
Army regards this as unworkable. The Nigerians then threatened that unless the
Paras sought written permission, they could be shot on sight "for suspicion of
being white mercenaries".
British troops are continuing to man their observation posts and carry out
patrols on foot and in Land Rovers in Aberdeen, a suburb of Freetown, as
commanders seek to defuse the tension. The Nigerian move is part of the UN
force's effort to reassert its control after several weeks of setbacks when it
was overwhelmed by Revolutionary United Front rebels who took 500 peacekeepers
hostage.
Since British troops arrived a week ago the situation has stabilised
considerably. Mr Hoon said that the deployment had been an "outstanding
success". Freetown remained calm and the rebels were "now on the back foot", he
said.
Nigeria is the largest contributor of troops to the peacekeeping mission. Its
army is proud of its tradition as one of Africa's most effective forces. Since
Sierra Leone's government was overthrown in 1997, Nigerian forces have led
international efforts to restore order and have paid a high price in lives
lost.
British troops from an 800-strong battle group formed round the 1st Bn the
Parachute Regiment are based in Aberdeen, where they have secured the UN
headquarters. It is an area normally patrolled by troops from Nigerian Bn 1.
Military standards between the British and Nigerian armies differ considerably
and some of the observation posts built by the Nigerians were bulldozed to
allow British positions to be built. The work was done after discussions with
local Nigerian commanders.
The Army regards posts as useful only if they afford a clear sight of all
approaches, with open fields of fire. The Nigerian positions were dotted with
huts, bushes and other cover. The British also needed to build secondary
positions from which they could cover the front position. Again, the Nigerians
had carried out this work to a different standard. All British troops have been
briefed on the need to co-operate with the UN.
The first sign that things were going wrong was when the senior Nigerian
officer, a colonel, stopped taking visits from anyone in the Paras below the
rank of colonel. This was impractical, as the appropriate British officer was
based 10 miles away across a wide estuary at Lungi airfield.
Gen Guthrie made a particular effort to reassure UN commanders that his troops
were not trying to sideline the 8,700-strong UN force. But the reality is that
the British force is more effective than the UN force 10 times its size.
{{<End<{{
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