The British Army

Pawns in a losing game: Britain's policy in tatters

If anything symbolised the degree to which Tony Blair's adventurous foreign policy has embroiled Britain in dangerous, unpredictable conflicts and wholly unintended consequences, it was the juxtaposition of joy and horror last Thursday.

The television news channels ran endless footage of 15 sailors and Royal Marines, freed by Iran after a two-week hostage saga that had taken almost daily twists and turns. But scrolling across the bottom of the screens was the news that four other service personnel, two of them women, and an Iraqi interpreter had been killed by an explosion in southern Iraq, the worst British loss of life in a single incident there for several months. A fifth soldier remains in a critical condition.

The death of those 4 British soldiers raises questions.

Why were two medical personnel on a military patrol in a Warrior tank?

I can only assume there is not enough regular troops to do patrolling, which suggests a recruitment problem and a sign that the British armed forces are overstretched.

I think we will be seeing more and more of these types of news stories from Iraq.