British troops finally 'at war' with the Taliban

Dub13

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/03/wafg103.xml

The Sunday Telegraph
(Filed: 03/09/2006)

British troops are now officially at war with the Taliban in Afghanistan, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Changes to the Army's secret rules of engagement, which govern the use of lethal force in combat zones, now allow commanders to use every weapon at their disposal in Afghanistan to mount offensive "strike operations" against the Taliban.

The revelation comes as British forces suffered their biggest single loss of life since the Falklands War with the death of 14 personnel when an RAF Nimrod crashed in southern Afghanistan yesterday.
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Under the new rules, commanders now have the legal authority to launch air strikes against suspected Taliban strongholds, conduct ambushes and order pre-emptive attacks against insurgents' camps.

The disclosure marks a major escalation in hostilities in the war-torn country and directly contradicts claims made by the Government that the Army was only in Afghanistan to provide the security conditions needed to allow reconstruction and self-governance to take place.

John Reid, the then defence secretary, told the House of Commons in January that British troops were not being sent to Afghanistan "with the purpose of waging war" and would not be "seeking out and destroying terrorists".

Troops were deployed to the country with self-defensive rules of engagement (ROE) which, although described as "robust", effectively meant they could only open fire when attacked.

It can also be revealed that commanders have been given authority to use the Army's controversial Hydra rockets, which are used to kill large concentrations of enemy troops with tungsten darts, and also that raw, teenage Parachute Regiment recruits are being sent to Afghanistan immediately after their basic training – without completing their month-long parachuting course.

The disclosure over the ROE changes comes just days after the Government admitted that Mr Reid had not given the public enough warning of the dangers faced by British troops.

It is understood the moves followed requests from Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of British troops in Helmand, who wanted to be able to launch "intelligence-lead, pre-planned strike operations".

The changes were agreed by Lieutenant General Nick Houghton, the Chief of Joint Operations at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, Middlesex.

An MoD spokesman said: "We do not comment on our rules of engagement but they are kept under constant review depending on operational conditions and always fall within the laws of armed conflict."

Commanders in Afghanistan now have war-fighting powers to launch attacks in a huge area of Helmand, which is approximately four times the size of Wales, identified as being "north of Route One". Route One is a road which bisects the province and is the southern border of an area which contains the towns of Sangin, Musa Qaleh and Nawzad, now regarded as the most dangerous part of the country.

Northern Helmand is the area where 13 British soldiers have been killed in insurgent attacks since May. The latest soldier to die, Ranger Anare Draiva, 27, a Fijian serving with the Royal Irish Regiment, was killed in a mortar bomb explosion outside a British military base in Musa Qaleh on Friday. Another soldier was seriously injured.

One senior source said: "Commanders wanted to take the fight to the enemy. The change now means that troops are now operating in a war fighting mode: we are at war. It is effectively the same ROE which were used during the Iraq war."

Patrick Mercer, the shadow homeland security minister and a former army officer, said: "I am glad that the troops have finally been given the powers they need to deal with the Taliban effectively.

"The Government must realise its responsibility to the troops whom they have committed to a very bloody war and give their commanders all the resources they need to win it."

Mick86

During the Falklands War the British government refused to say that it was at war but merely engaged in hostilities.

Has a Declaration of War been made by the British government? If not then they are technically not at war. Notwithstanding the Sunday Telegraph.

Anyway it's a question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. It's a de facto war once people are killing each other.