Asbos for terrorists… *Eh?*

Once again, they slice, they score… I’m not going to paint it as something it is not. It is awful, barbaric and quite simply a brutal act of murder. Sure there are many risks to becoming a war correspondent as many of Simon’s 10 Q Interviewees are aware (See specifically Martin Fletcher’s longest walk).


Deepest respect go to the family of James Foley (R.I.P.). I can’t quite imagine what positive can be brought out of this utterly negative act, which certainly isn’t the first of its kind, and never does anything either at home or abroad, other than to incite hatred between entire races of people. But one thing it has reminded me of this morning, which also has made my skin crawl since being a serviceman, is how the ‘rules’ of war play out.


“Rules?” I hear you mutter… What rules…?


Hell yes, our own soldiers carry a small card, if memory serves it is JSP 398 (I may be wrong on the number), which outlines a serviceman’s rules of engagement that must be adhered to before opening fire on a potential enemy. One of the most amusing (note there is much sarcasm and cynicism in this post!) aspects of the UK version of these JSP’s is the requirement of being shot at before returning fire. In other words, give the enemy a free pot shot at you, hope to God he misses and then shoot back, if indeed you have the chance or are still able. Of course our British pomp would suggest that any other way is “Simply, not cricket!”


I once had a conversation with a US serviceman at RAF Fairford’s RIAT about the American understanding of our JSP’s of the time. I had been drafted in as the Joint 2nd in Command of night security for the base for the duration of The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT). It was due to take place within days of Osama Bin Laden’s latest threat of the time. The air show, one of the largest in the world, was almost cancelled. The concern being that over 100,000 civilian visitors a day would have been something to make any serious terrorist salivate and given a few open and globally announced threats of attack at the time, the prospect of cancelling the show was considered very carefully and at the highest level. But, the British ‘stiff upper lip’ prevailed and we simply quadrupled an already large security presence…and the show went on.


During my first perimeter drive of the evening with my Provost 2IC counterpart, we saw two cold and rather serious looking armed American servicemen standing and guarding a tiny gap left between two near-closed enormous hangar doors. “Let’s go offer them a sandwich” I muttered to a rather nervous looking Provo officer. We were checking on our guards anyway and had plenty to go around. But as I drove closer to the hangar in our unmarked security vehicle I failed to realise we crossed a painted semi-circular line that stretched out from one corner to the other, outwards from the hangar doors… I was not only vexed but slightly concerned as the two Americans reacted like coiled springs, visibly cocked their weapons, started shouting incoherently at us and began running towards our vehicle. With no sign of anybody else within sight I was left in no doubt that if we didn’t do something rather quickly, we would likely be in a whole raft of trouble.


Finding the reverse gear at the speed I did would probably have impressed even Jeremy Clarkson, off BBC’s Top Gear programme… and there might even have been rather a large amount of wheel spin as I blindly reversed backwards, until the soldiers, for no apparent reason, seemed to stop…and slowly, real slowly, lowered their (still loaded) weapons… It was as though they had reached a force field they could not cross!


Indeed, in a sense they had, the semi-circular line was their sovereign territory and I was now “Back in Britain” so to speak! Britain to the US and back in several seconds, Richard Branson would be proud! I exchanged several expletives with my Provo friend, before we decided to turn off the headlights of the vehicle so as not to blind these solitary soldiers and rather than become stuck in a Mexican stand-off wondering who should do what-next, and without attempting to make things any worse, or cause an international incident with our own allies, we decided to approach the edge of the line extremely slowly to have a chat. Driving with one hand on the steering wheel and holding ID cards visibly from the window we edged forward…


The American’s were fairly decent fellas as it turned out and politely turned down our offer of sandwiches! As we became slightly more comfortable in each other’s company, we (me and my Provo counterpart) began questioning what the F*CK they thought they were doing on a UK airbase chasing down the Joint 2IC security on his home soil, after all we are supposed to be allies! “Shoot first, ask questions later!” came the reply. I grappled for my JSP 398 card, which of course only relates to UK serving personnel. The first soldier read the card, passed it to his colleague before they stared momentarily in disbelief at each other. “Sir, with respect, you were clear in my sights and would be dead right now if you hadn’t backed down, and sir, please be aware this line represents the border between the US and the UK”. He was indeed correct, we hadn’t been briefed correctly and I have never, either doubted the man’s sincerity or, since understood the sanity of the UK JSP Rules of Engagement card in modern day peacetime or combat. Though, there was a positive for me from this experience. Having made our nervous introductions, proven our identities and engaged in some banter on an otherwise very cold night, we were briefly invited back onto American soil, shown through the gap in those huge hangar doors, where sat the stealthiest plane of the day, the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk in all its glory, before being prepared for public display.


So, back to the story… Apologies, I am still rather groggy from my hospital trip, I think we were talking about ASBOs!


Having left the RAF in 2004, I was on a bus down in Exeter where a group of youths were showing off these things on their legs to anybody who cared to pay them any attention. A transponder of sorts I asked curiously what the thing was. I must admit because so many of the group wore them I was convinced it was part of some crazy new teenage trend, stranger things have been no doubt!


The teenager explained to me that it monitored his movements and therefore kept him out of jail… “Does it work?” I asked. “Nope…we’ve worked out how to stop them working when we need to go robbing!”…. In fact need I say any more on the subject? Whether he was spinning a yarn or not, I had no reason to disbelieve this very chirpy young criminal and his band of brothers, who to many more vulnerable within the community must have seemed rather intimidating. For me those were the days when I was still invincible, they posed me no threat.


Finally, to come to the point… A British born person openly decides to go fight in the holy lands, kills British and US troops openly, sometimes on camera and then wants to come home…to Britain. The British response is that we should put a band, which due to my knowledge of the above can’t keep mischievous teenagers in tow let alone trained killers, around their ankles and allow them to carry on as normal within society? It is my understanding that martyrdom is becoming more popularised amongst these freedom fighters… So, once attached to a belt full of TNT, what good is the ASBO idea or indeed an ankle belt/transponder. Unless of course it carries mysterious technology that can bring a terrorists victims back to life…?


Whilst I deplore these backlashes on entire ethnic or religious groups based upon the acts of the few, I must admit to feeling incredibly uncomfortable in the knowledge that those who would fight against their own nationals, could then have any cause to complain if we didn’t let them back into the country, after all am I missing the point or indeed should we not be putting them in the clink and throwing away the key…


I suppose where my brain fails to compute is that, these days, I feel unable to distinguish between murder on the streets and murder for a cause… Isn’t murder simply murder? As an ex-serviceman I have no real political beliefs, I am a voting abstainer on the basis corruption in my view is widespread, across all parties. It would appear to me that even the most well intentioned politicians either have to get sucked into the dark side of the political arena, or be content with a very brief career… It’s just a matter of what or whether they are able to achieve anything in the interim between having morals and losing them that might make a small difference.


Whilst in the services my task was simple: to do or go where my ‘betters’ (yeah, right!) ordered, do what they commanded and return home. In theory therefore I was acting upon the will of the majority, although that has never really been the case either has it? We don’t have referendums about wars do we… Freedom fighters on the other hand are unable or unwilling to discuss or rationalise about their decisions to go to war with others. They have made up their own minds and often in spite of the masses and indeed often their families wishes, they embark upon what they believe to be a justified murderous spree… Perhaps some ’causes’ are justified, who knows, I am simply a mere mortal! But, when all is said and done, if these individuals are allowed to return to the UK, an ASBO is hardly likely to make them quake in their boots, they’re more likely to use the transponder as some form of triggering device… Thanks Britain, for a free source of fuses… (said partly in jest!). I do also wonder which side these people have fought for… because I cannot even comprehend why such individuals should be allowed within the country at all, if they have been fighting for ‘the other side’, whoever that happens to be… Is it just me, I mean I have been ill lately, but I am fairly certain of what I have read to be correct?


Sadly, I don’t have the answers… in fact any answers. I have generally lived on the basis, try not to complain unless you have some form of solution, but today’s problems are beyond me. I simply have a heart that sinks at the thought of what goes on, what people don’t know of what goes on and at the end of the day whether most would even be bothered if they did know?


I find the outlook rather depressing…


There are always and have always been conflicts taking place across the planet. Some publicised and others ignored dependent upon each country’s view of the threat to their national interest, and by that I generalise not so much about border conflicts but more often than not, the availability of national resources. Genocide has also always been widespread, Mozambique, Rhwanda, Bosnia, Northern Iraq etc etc… the list goes on and yet was ignored when it most mattered. I am saddened that charitable aid can end up on the black market and often never reach its target recipients and moreover, as a result wonder why we don’t more often adopt the saying “Charity begins at home”, after all how many pay cuts or freezes has the average person received in the last 7 years in the UK, how bad is the state of the UK pension, the hospitals, the roads? I was always taught to ensure my own house is in order before getting involved or offering advice to others about their own situation… The UK is not in a particularly good state methinks! There are too many well intentioned decision makers out there today who simply couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery, perhaps they know what a brewery looks like but they don’t know which brand is being manufactured! The will is strong but the knowledge is lacking to a despairingly low level.


This virus creeps into our own country in the form of poor leadership, billions of tax payers money wasted and an infrastructure so complex that fraudsters seem to penetrate it freely and often legally… The higher you go the more it is apparent. The higher you go the more the rules are open to a more convenient form of interpretation… Whilst George Orwell’s Animal Farm was based upon the flaws within communism, it highlights the outcome quite graphically of the disparity between the rich and the poor in our own society, both, if memory serves correctly at the beginning and also at the end of the book…


I think that is enough of a rant from me for now… ASBO’s indeed… I am not sure whether to laugh or cry, but I do know I despair!


As an afterthought, wars create pollution… I was reminded of this girl who gave a speech to the UN a few years back. It is so well worth a watch. I wonder what she thinks of the world today!?


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Published on August 24, 2014 08:10
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