How army chief staged No 10 ambush
General Sir Richard Dannatt, new head of the army, knew what he was doing when he lit the touchpaper during an interview with a concerned mother. Mark Townsend and Ned Temko examine what happened next
Mark Townsend and Ned Temko
Sunday October 15, 2006
Observer
It was agreed. No politics, no talk of body bags or rifles that jammed in the desert. In short, nothing contentious. The assumption was that Sarah Sands, feature writer for the Daily Mail, would produce a gentle profile of Sir Richard Dannatt. She would soften his edges, inject a little pizzazz into the image of the battle-hardened head of the British army.
The interview went well, Sands being particularly impressed with Dannatt's commitment to the welfare of his soldiers. By the time she left his third-floor office the writer was content not just professionally but personally; her son who serves in the army appeared to be in the safest of hands.
Defence secretary Des Browne had only sanctioned the meeting on the understanding - by both sides - 'that it would be strictly on military issues, not politics'. While the former Sunday Telegraph editor may have understood the message, Dannatt appeared to have his own interpretation of the instruction. Towards the end of their 90-minute chat the general seemed only too keen to drag the conversation into uncharted territory. It was the journalistic equivalent of gelignite.
Perhaps, some speculated, the chief of the general staff had been dazzled by Sands's breezy, disarming manner. But the truth is that the 55-year-old general, described by colleagues as a cautious, cerebral character, knew what he was doing when he shattered the rule of silence that had concealed the concerns of his predecessors. Dannatt had seen first hand how Iraq was draining the spirit of his men. He had listened to troops who wondered how many more of their peers would die in a conflict that seemed to be getting worse by the day.
The general would tell Sands that British troops should be brought home 'soon' from Iraq and that their presence was 'exacerbating' tensions. Not only that, but he, in effect, accused the Prime Minister of being 'naive' in thinking they could install a liberal democracy in Iraq. Within hours of her dramatic story appearing in print, Browne rang Dannatt to demand if his comments were accurately replicated. They were. Tony Blair was in trouble.
(The rest is here.)
Mark Townsend and Ned Temko
Sunday October 15, 2006
Observer
It was agreed. No politics, no talk of body bags or rifles that jammed in the desert. In short, nothing contentious. The assumption was that Sarah Sands, feature writer for the Daily Mail, would produce a gentle profile of Sir Richard Dannatt. She would soften his edges, inject a little pizzazz into the image of the battle-hardened head of the British army.
The interview went well, Sands being particularly impressed with Dannatt's commitment to the welfare of his soldiers. By the time she left his third-floor office the writer was content not just professionally but personally; her son who serves in the army appeared to be in the safest of hands.
Defence secretary Des Browne had only sanctioned the meeting on the understanding - by both sides - 'that it would be strictly on military issues, not politics'. While the former Sunday Telegraph editor may have understood the message, Dannatt appeared to have his own interpretation of the instruction. Towards the end of their 90-minute chat the general seemed only too keen to drag the conversation into uncharted territory. It was the journalistic equivalent of gelignite.
Perhaps, some speculated, the chief of the general staff had been dazzled by Sands's breezy, disarming manner. But the truth is that the 55-year-old general, described by colleagues as a cautious, cerebral character, knew what he was doing when he shattered the rule of silence that had concealed the concerns of his predecessors. Dannatt had seen first hand how Iraq was draining the spirit of his men. He had listened to troops who wondered how many more of their peers would die in a conflict that seemed to be getting worse by the day.
The general would tell Sands that British troops should be brought home 'soon' from Iraq and that their presence was 'exacerbating' tensions. Not only that, but he, in effect, accused the Prime Minister of being 'naive' in thinking they could install a liberal democracy in Iraq. Within hours of her dramatic story appearing in print, Browne rang Dannatt to demand if his comments were accurately replicated. They were. Tony Blair was in trouble.
(The rest is here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home