U.S.-U.K. Military Tensions Ran Deep: Leaked Report

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Leaked British government documents reveal that hostility between American and British commanders in Iraq ran deep, with one of them even describing his U.S. counterparts as "group of Martians."

Chief of Staff of British forces in Iraq, Colonel J.K. Tanner, said despite the so-called Anglo-American "special relationship," he felt the British were treated no differently than, say, the Portuguese, according to documents published by a prominent U.K. daily. He also branded his American military counterparts as "a group of Martians" for whom "dialogue is alien."

Describing the whole system as "appalling," he said: "We experienced real difficulty in dealing with American military and civilian organizations which, partly through arrogance and partly through bureaucracy, dictate that there is only one way: the American way."

The senior British commander in Iraq, Major-General Andrew Stewart, said their ability to influence U.S. policy in Iraq seemed to be "minimal" in the first year of the conflict, and described how he had spent a significant amount of his time "evading" and "refusing" orders from his U.S. superiors.

Gen. Stewart also said he found it "incredible" that there was not even a secure communication link between his headquarters in Basra and the then U.S. commander, General Rick Sanchez, in Baghdad.

Another British commander said a U.S. decision to try to capture a key follower of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in a British-assigned area "was not co-ordinated with us, and no-one was told that it was going to happen."

These and such other observations were made in internal Ministry of Defense interviews with Army commanders who returned from Operations Telic 2 and 3--the first year of "peace-keeping" operations in Iraq, from May 2003 to May 2004.

Transcripts of the statements, along with "post-operational reports" by British commanders, leaked to the newspaper, were revealed a day before first public hearings by the long-awaited "Iraq War Inquiry" were to begin. The independent inquiry is tasked with looking into the country's role in Iraq to draw lessons.

British troops ended what many consider a highly controversial campaign in Iraq in July with 179 troops lost in action.

Meanwhile, the head of the "Iraq War Inquiry," retired Whitehall mandarin Sir John Chilcot, said his committee would not produce a report that would be a "whitewash", and pledged to bring out a "full and insightful" account of the decision-making process that plunged Britain into the conflict.

The retired career civil servant said the committee was determined not only to do a thorough job but one that would be frank and would stand public scrutiny.

Insisting that he and his four colleagues were impartial and open-minded, and would fault individuals or organizations if warranted, Sir John, however, stressed the inquiry was not a court of law set up to determine issues of guilt and innocence.

The committee's job, he said, was to "write the narrative to learn the lessons." In this respect, he said, hearings beginning Tuesday, would not have the "adversarial ding-dong" of the courtroom to try to get "a naturalness" into the exchanges.

Evidence from senior government figures, including senior officials, diplomats and military officers will start Tuesday while politicians, including the then Prime Minister Tony Blair who committed British troops to Iraq, will be called early next year.

Sir John said he hoped to complete the report before the end of next year. An interim report would not be published until after the General Election, scheduled for early next year, as it could prove to be incomplete or unsatisfactory and might need to be changed, he added.

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