Restless Natives pt2

Another weekend... another story about dead British soldiers in Basra

And as I mentioned in a previous post, no real explanation for the increasing Iraqi anger at the British presence.

After all, we are trying to do them a favour aren’t we?

Why would they be so ungrateful?

In a previous post I mentioned that one of the reasons Iraqis are upset with us is that they think coalition forces are behind some of the terrorist attacks ripping Iraq apart.

Unlike the mainstream Western media, which is curiously muted on the subject, alternative and non Western sources are airing the possibility that at least some of the bombs and killings are being arranged by our boys.

Their most common conspiracy theory comes in two basic variations

1. Ordinary Iraqi stopped at a check point. Taken into an office while his car is searched. Told to report to another police station or check point. Discovers Kinder Surprise bomb underneath car on the way.
   
2. Trainee Iraqi policeman given a mobile phone, told to get in an unmarked car and report on a demonstration. Drives to demonstration. Can’t get a signal on the phone. Leaves car to make a call. Car blows up.

I won’t bother pasting links to these stories as they are invariably phrased along the lines of ‘My brother in law in Baghdad told me that a mate of his heard that…’. Names, dates and verifiable facts are thin on the ground. That’s not to say the stories are necessarily untrue. They certainly represent a viable method to stage an apparent suicide bombing and some Iraqi, and non Iraqis, are inclined to believe them

And in the back of my mind I keep thinking about those two SAS men, at least we were told they were SAS men, caught dressed as Shia militia last year and the efforts our army went to liberate them – going so far as to demolish a police station with an APC.

And the locals went mental. And the reasons why they went mental and started lobbing fire bombs at British soldiers were faffed and obscured in the mainstream reporting of the incident.

Exciting SAS 'Basra' figurines available here. Shia militiamen uniforms, unmarked Nissan Sunny and remote controlled car bomb not included

Local Iraqi militia leaders were less reluctant to give their view on what was going on...

"What our police found in their car was very disturbing – weapons, explosives, and a remote control detonator. These are the weapons of terrorists. We believe these soldiers were planning an attack on a market or other civilian targets, and thanks be to god they were stopped and countless lives were saved."

And then, a few weeks later, the regular British Army officer responsible for investigating the incident, Captain Ken Masters, was found dead in his quarters.

If there has been any follow-up to what the supposed SAS men were doing in Basra or the circumstances of Captain Masters’ death it has passed me by. I don’t know anything near enough about these events to reasonably speculate anything but the very absence of information is a concern in itself. And I say once again, whether the rumours are true or not, some Iraqis believe them and that’s why they’re so angry and yet our media is reluctant to explain what’s pissing the Iraqis off with us so much.

Why would our television and newspapers be so coy?

And why am I so interested in the possibility of ‘false flag’ terrorist attacks, unwitting suicide bombers and spooks running around pretending to be somebody else?

Well, that should be fairly obvious…