Sometimes we are reminded of this.....

Iraq attack kills two UK soldiers  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4758188.stm


Two British soldiers have been killed and another injured by a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Amara, in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The wounded solider is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. More details will be released once next of kin have been told, said a spokeswoman.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said they were "sadly aware" of the deaths.

The number of British troops killed during operations in Iraq is now 103.


About 8,900 UK personnel are stationed in Iraq, mainly in the south east of the country.

"Next of kin are being informed and we cannot give further details until this process is complete and the incident has been thoroughly investigated," said Mr Blair's spokesman.

The soldiers' deaths happened as at least 33 people were killed and many injured by three bomb attacks in Baghdad - just a day after a curfew imposed following violence was lifted.

'Abuse' video

The last UK soldier to die in Iraq was Trooper Carl Joseph Smith, 23, from the 9th/12th Lancers, who died after a crash on the outskirts of Basra in southern Iraq on 2 February.

Tuesday's casualties come amid heightened tensions between British troops and local Iraqis.

Two regional councils have suspended relations with British forces after a video of soldiers appearing to abuse Iraqi civilians in Amara came to light.

Last month Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, 22, from Aberdeen, was killed by small arms fire while on patrol in the city - in Maysan province north of the main British base at Basra.

On 16 July 2005 three soldiers - Second Lieutenant Richard Shearer, Private Leon Spicer and Private Phillip Hewett of C Company, The 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment - were killed when an explosion hit a patrol of three armoured Land Rovers in the city.

The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies!

God love 'em.

Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies!

+1

Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies!

+1

Quoted: Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies! +1

Don't forget the Danes- they're there too!

Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden.

Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden.

Token representations, but representations nonetheless. I'd rather have 1 pole or 1 dane there than none. Please, enlist and go help the cause yourself before you downplay an allied contribution.

Quoted: Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden. Token representations, but representations nonetheless. I'd rather have 1 pole or 1 dane there than none. Please, enlist and go help the cause yourself before you downplay an allied contribution.

Same things as "For the children" and "If it saves one life". Symbolism over substance, right?

Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden.

A lot of these smaller countries, like Poland, do not have the money or troops numbers to sustain a large scale deployment. 200 troops or so may not seem like a lot to us, but for some countries it is.

Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies!

Can't forget the Romanians, Poles, Ukrainians, Japanese, Albanians, Italians and a large list of others in small groups.

Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden.

So you think an Invasion force of 30,000, a "policing" force of 9,000 and over 100 dead is a token representation ?

Quoted: Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden. So you think an Invasion force of 30,000, a "policing" force of 9,000 and over 100 dead is a token representation ?

Compared to the hundreds of thousands of Americans that have serverd there, the 2,300 U.S. dead, the nearly 17,000 U.S. wounded? No, I was wrong, the British are once again pulling our asses out of the fire. God save the Queen.

They have a smaller military. That "token" force is a major commitment for them. Their help is appreciated, at least by me and by many people I know who are serving.

Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies!

Plus the UAE and a few others.

Over here I have worked with Poles, Slovaks, Koreans, Egyptians, UAE, Canadians, a Brits.

I have also seen Germans, Nowriegens, Swedes, Aussies, Danes, and a handfull of others, mostly around Bagram and Kabul.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden. So you think an Invasion force of 30,000, a "policing" force of 9,000 and over 100 dead is a token representation ? Compared to the hundreds of thousands of Americans that have serverd there, the 2,300 U.S. dead, the nearly 17,000 U.S. wounded? No, I was wrong, the British are once again pulling our asses out of the fire. God save the Queen.

What do you expect? Our military is huge compared to theirs. Losses are proportional to the number of troops they have in theatre. The Iraqi police have lost more than 4,000.

Considering that this is our war and not theirs, I'd say the British are doing more than their share. They don't have to be there at all.

Quoted: Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies! Plus the UAE and a few others.

Don't forget the native Iraqis who are fighting alongside us.
We can't win the war without them.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Token representations. Many of their Govts. sent them grudgingly, only after closed door deals were struck. As usual, when we are in need, the USA stands pretty much alone or carrying the vast majority of the burden. So you think an Invasion force of 30,000, a "policing" force of 9,000 and over 100 dead is a token representation ? Compared to the hundreds of thousands of Americans that have serverd there, the 2,300 U.S. dead, the nearly 17,000 U.S. wounded? No, I was wrong, the British are once again pulling our asses out of the fire. God save the Queen. What do you expect? Our military is huge compared to theirs. Losses are proportional to the number of troops they have in theatre. The Iraqi police have lost more than 4,000. Considering that this is our war and not theirs, I'd say the British are doing more than their share. They don't have to be there at all.

I'm not disagreeing with any of that. But, it's still a token comittment. If calling it what it is makes people unhappy, sorry about that.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies! Plus the UAE and a few others. Don't forget the native Iraqis who are fighting alongside us. We can't win the war without them.

They are more likely to pay a drastic price than we are that is for sure.

Quoted: They have a smaller military. That "token" force is a major commitment for them. Their help is appreciated, at least by me and by many people I know who are serving.

They also have a lot of Iraqi territory they are responsible for and seem to be doing a great job managing it.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The Brits, Poles and Aussie have ALL been great allies! Plus the UAE and a few others. Don't forget the native Iraqis who are fighting alongside us. We can't win the war without them.

Yep, they can make or break this more effectivly than anyone else.