Twenty-fifth Anniversary of 9/11

Posted on by Rupert Wieloch

The 25th anniversary of the largest loss of British lives to terrorism is particularly poignant for me. I had recently returned from New York working in the United Nations building close to the World Trade Centre. Back in London, I booked a meeting room for 11 September 2001 in the Metropole Building, which was the temporary home of the UK Ministry of Defence, while the main building was being refurbished.

The room was next to a media operations office, which I knew well from my public information writing. Just before the meeting with the Foreign Office and International Development the television switched to a view of the World Trade Centre and we watched in horror as the Boeing 767 flew into the second tower and subsequent collapse of the buildings. The room was full of questions, but the MoD reacted quickly and within 24 hours had set up a team to develop the UK response.

For the next six weeks, I worked in the underground bunker system that links 10 Downing Street with the main departments of state. The plans we developed, summarised in the image below, were taken to Camp David by the Prime Minister and outlined in Parliament by the Foreign Secretary.

It always amazes me how so much that is written about 9/11 fails to take account of what actually happened. The most common mistake in academia is to analyse the political aspects without taking account of the military and diplomatic milestones. The second major error is to suggest that what happened in 2001 was completely new, when in fact there was a long track record of international terrorism conventions and a clear time-line of Al Qaida’s attacks on US targets. A third misconception is to merge the operations in Afghanistan in 2001-02 with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, when there is a very clear distinction between the two in terms of legality and global consensus.

As we approach the 25th anniversary, the focus should rightly be on the victims of 9/11 and the courage of individual responders. But we should also remember how we have managed to prevent an atrocity of this scale from reoccurring, despite many copycat attempts (notwithstanding some pretty ghastly domestic attacks in the past two decades). Unfortunately, the threat has not disappeared, so we need to remind the youth of today what really happened and encourage them to continue the important government counter-terrorism work.

Threatening Oman Is Threatening British Armed Forces

Posted on by Rupert Wieloch

A month ago I wrote about America’s clumsy attempt at extortion in the Gulf, which was hastily retracted. Now Washington has sunk to a new low by threatening one of the West’s most important allies in the region, where British diplomats and service personnel are embedded in the national armed forces.

Britain has a deep relationship with Oman dating to the 18th century Treaty of Friendship. This was cemented when the Southern Arabian insurgencies began in 1963. Whereas the British government pulled out of Aden, it remained committed to support Oman in their Dhofar War. This was an “undeclared campaign” and although the British Media has focused on the role of the SAS, their involvement was only a small part of the overall British military deployment. For example, my first tank troop sergeant in the 17th/21st Lancers was awarded the equivalent of the Military Medal for bravery in a desert battle and the officer who took over B Squadron from me in 1985 was also recognised for his gallantry when he commanded a troop of Saladin light tanks in the 1970s.

Since then, British soldiers, sailors and air personnel have continued to be embedded in the Omani armed forces on loan service appointments and British military advisors serve in Omani headquarters. In addition, all three British services train there; for example, the series of major combat exercises named Saif Sareea have been vital for identifying lessons that were fixed before operational deployments. The last one involved 5,500 British troops and over 70,000 from the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces.

Anyone who knows their history, knows how important Oman is in the Gulf Region and what a good ally it has been to the West. Threatening to bomb Oman is like threatening to invade Greenland. Not only is it illegal, but all it does is store up ill-will and push friends into the adversary’s camp – coercion is not for allies.

Oman In 2016 Before Saif Sareea 3

Will Dan Jarvis Stay As Defence Secretary?

Posted on by Rupert Wieloch

I was asked yesterday whether I thought the new Prime Minister would change the Secretary of State for Defence when he appoints his first Cabinet later this month.

It is certainly true that top Whitehall Mandarins do not like it when a Secretary of State knows more than they do about their business. So it is very unusual for a regular army officer, who has commanded soldiers on operations and held Grade 2 staff appointments, to become Secretary of State for Defence. Not only will the Civil Servants, Cabinet Office and Treasury be cautious, but the Navy, Air Force and Intelligence Services, who compete for Security funding, will be suspicious that Dan will favour his alma mater.

Given this situation and the fact the new PM will wish to reward those who paved the way for his arrival (including the previous Defence Secretary), it would seem that Dan’s days are numbered. And yet…

Defence is not a vote-winner and no longer as important as it was fifteen years ago. It is in a mess both in terms of funding and capability to meet its remit. It needs a root and branch overhaul, so it is unlikely there will be many ambitious politicians eager to take on the role. More importantly, my sources tell me that Dan passed his first important test at the NATO Summit in Ankara and achieved a strengthening of support to Ukraine and an improvement in Defence Industry deals.

The other important factor is that the arrival of the new resident of 10 Downing Street will coincide with the Summer Recess until September. In some ways that is a good time to take of a new job because parliamentary scrutiny is less. However, it could equally be argued that over the summer, we need someone running Defence who knows what they are talking about, so for me, Dan’s the Man.