The Anonymous Widower

Colonel Tim Collins Shoots From The Hip

Colonel Tim Collins, was the army officer who gave the inspirational speech to his troops before the last Iraq War.

He’s just been on Kate Silverton’s program on Radio 5, being as forthright as anybody I’ve heard in the last few months.

A few points.

1. He said that Tony Blair had surrounded himself with obsequious advisers who weren’t up to the job.
2. He wished that the second Iraq war had been more like the first, with a coalition of sixty countries.
3. On Northern Ireland he said that Yesterday’s men are still trying to get the war going.  But the real problem is lack of jobs and especially for young people in the province.
4. He was very scathing about Defence Procurement, saying that they squandered all the money.
5. Asked about the defence cuts, he said something like if Virgin could do the long-range troop deployments, the Navy the strike and the battlefield helicopters were under the Army, then what is there for the Air Force to do.
6. As Colonel Tim is a proud Irishman, I was surprised he would want to have dinner with Oliver Cromwell.  But then he said he wanted to get to know the man.

It was an amazing interview full of common sense and humanity.

November 14, 2010 - Posted by AnonW | World | Army, Iraq, Politics, Tony Blair