There seem to be slight cultural differences in the carrying out of operation Iraqi freedom...
British commanders are appalled at how the Americans pulverise anything from afar before daring to set foot out of their armoured vehicles.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5781-632080,00.html
This was no better illustrated than in the first skirmish of the land war, where the American 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit was handed what should have been the easy capture of the seaport of Umm Qasr. Royal Marine officers watched incredulously as their US compatriots bombed and shelled the town for five days.
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The rhetoric of US soldiers is often provocative. When an American colonel was asked by The Times what the role of the Fifth Corps would be, he replied: “We are going in there, we are going to root out the bad guys and kill them.”
His men, grouped around him, grunted, whooped and punched the air as if they were watching a football match.
A British officer who saw this exchange shook his head and walked away, saying: “We are working from a different script but you won’t get anyone in Whitehall to admit it.”
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-631779,00.html
But the Middle East is potentially the most divisive issue. Tony Blair has staked huge amounts of political capital to secure President Bush’s reluctant backing for implementing a new “road map” for the peace process to rebuild relations with Arab countries.
A key prime ministerial adviser said yesterday that if Mr Bush failed to fulfil his promises, that would represent a “significant breach which would change things in the future”. He added: “There are always stresses and strains in the structure of this relationship. There is no rift, but we are beginning to see hairline cracks.”
British commanders are appalled at how the Americans pulverise anything from afar before daring to set foot out of their armoured vehicles.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5781-632080,00.html
This was no better illustrated than in the first skirmish of the land war, where the American 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit was handed what should have been the easy capture of the seaport of Umm Qasr. Royal Marine officers watched incredulously as their US compatriots bombed and shelled the town for five days.
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The rhetoric of US soldiers is often provocative. When an American colonel was asked by The Times what the role of the Fifth Corps would be, he replied: “We are going in there, we are going to root out the bad guys and kill them.”
His men, grouped around him, grunted, whooped and punched the air as if they were watching a football match.
A British officer who saw this exchange shook his head and walked away, saying: “We are working from a different script but you won’t get anyone in Whitehall to admit it.”
---------------------------------------------
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-631779,00.html
But the Middle East is potentially the most divisive issue. Tony Blair has staked huge amounts of political capital to secure President Bush’s reluctant backing for implementing a new “road map” for the peace process to rebuild relations with Arab countries.
A key prime ministerial adviser said yesterday that if Mr Bush failed to fulfil his promises, that would represent a “significant breach which would change things in the future”. He added: “There are always stresses and strains in the structure of this relationship. There is no rift, but we are beginning to see hairline cracks.”