Sandhurst Revived in dusty Rustumia

Nur al-Cubicle (in my cubicle) is an A1 blog on the current crises in the Middle East and provides excellent English translations of news accounts unpublished by the US press. It provides a detailed daily timeline of events in Iraq as collected from stories and dispatches in the French and Italian media: Le Monde (Paris), Il Corriere della Sera (Milan), La Repubblica (Rome) and L'Orient-Le Jour (Beirut). Highly recommended reading.

Today the lady offers a translation from Mehdi LEBOUACHERA (AFP) in L'Orient-Le Jour. Sandhurst used a model for new Iraqi army cadets.

I have added a few sour comments in brackets - and a pic or two :

Apparently the Iraqi military academy has re-introduced (after 30 years) Soviet style discipline) training of young officers based on instruction at the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy (Which recently took in, the Nazi emblem wearing spawn of the British Monarchy, with a dodgy Art qualification and no ironing board and a history of “boisterous” behaviour in public)

The academy, located in Rustumia 10 km south of Baghdad will eventually house 900 cadets, it is reserved to young recruits in excellent physical condition and in possession of a university diploma. It is here where NATO will open its own military academy this autumn. (The project had been delayed due to lack of funds). (I am not aware that Prince Harry has a University Diploma – but he has a girlfriend if that helps and a history of jolly japes)

In the suffocating heat, 20 recruits, identified by the number on their uniforms, are running a dusty obstacle course and clearing beams and concrete walls. Even if discipline is not strict, recruits say they have come to serve their country and to measure up to the test. Lance Mohammed, 25, his face dripping with sweat, says he doesn't fear insurgent threats or attacks. This young man tried to enlist under Saddam Hussein but was rejected because his mother was Kurdish. But inshallah, the new Iraqi army there will be no difference between Arabs and Kurds. British Colonel Neil Hutton, in charge of the training program, says religious or ethnic criteria will not be used to determine eligibility. ( Colonel Hutton must regard such duties a relief from an army perhaps overburdened with soldiers and officers of every tint and shade of brown and black encompassing the Jew, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Muslim , Buddhist, Rastafarian and many other world faiths – although they do seem to be cutting back on the Scots – which is causing ethnicity problems somewhat, North of the Border - pic from TA for RMA Sandhurst recruiting literature where you might be forgiven for thinking that in the British Army coloured recruits are a regular feature - although President for Life Idi Amin (RIP did dwell there awhile)

Further away, on a huge blacktopped surface, you hear the shouts of 90 cadets in impeccable uniforms learning to march in cadence under the severe gaze of Her Majesty's instructor. The training we give here is the same as at Sandhurst, emphasized Capt. John Langton. We teach them the values of the British Army: courage, loyalty, discipline, respect for others,(notwithstanding a bit of larking about with the looters and a digital camera) personal commitment and integrity.(Don't worry officers get off and only the PBI get to spend their time in Colchester, droit du seigneur still the watchword ol' boy)

Iraqi and British military ties go way back. The academy, where fading photos of former cadets who achieved high rank still hang on the walls, was created by the British in 1924 when they administered a mandate over the country. ( When Wingco “Bomber” Harris learnt and perfected aerial bombing of civilians, delayed action fusing so fleeing householders returned to their homes to be blown up later, gas bombs, and how to remove roofs with blast bombs followed by incendiaries, used so effectively on German cities in WWII)

The instruction methods used at Sandhurst, where many an Arab leader has trained, were in use in Iraq until 1970 when the Ba'ath regime turned towards the Soviet Union for military assistance. Colonel Hutton says the return was inspired not only by the historical ties between the two countries but because the period of instruction is 12 months. Officers can be rapidly turned out to fight the insurgents. (Re-run WW1 anybody ?)

The goal of instruction is to develop their ability of command so that they will become professional soldiers and believers in democracy, as well as to break the tradition of launching military coups. (To be replaced by illegal and massive invasions using shock and awe tactics with unbelievable power against an unprotected citizenry, infrastructure, utilities and commercial structures – in the manner apparently of a cake walk)

The academy is willing to incorporate Saddam-era military men but on certain conditions. It depends on their role in the Ba'ath Party and their past, says Colonel Hutton. This reporter met an ex-officer of Saddam's military who decided to come back. After the fall of Saddam, I tried to work as a civilian but I had no luck. I like the tough life of the military. The 30-something officer was almost apologetic for having served in the ex-dictator's military: I was a soldier and I was not concerned with who was in power.