The invisible army

The rescue of Norman Kember highlighted the role of the Special Services in Iraq - soldiers the public rarely sees, but who are key to the UK's military might, says military historian Peter Caddick-Adams.

We've had a steady drip-feed of bad news from Iraq.

On 31 January the 100th British serviceman, Corporal Gordon Pritchard, 31, died in a blast in Umm Qasr, Basra province, and then there was the video of UK troops appearing to bully and abuse Iraqi civilians, released in February.

Other service personnel - reassuringly few for the more than 90,000 who served there - have been found guilty of prisoner abuse and there are more cases pending.

Hostages have been taken and in the case of Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan, ruthlessly and brutally murdered in October and November 2004.

So the release of 74-year-old Norman Kember by Coalition Special Forces in the early hours of last Thursday morning was very welcome indeed.

Cutting edge

Although their American colleague Tom Fox, 54, had been murdered earlier, Kember and his two Canadian friends - James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, from a Christian Peacemaker Team - were rescued alive, bringing to an end their 117 days of captivity.

They were found after a lucky break in the shadow war that is conducted 24/7 throughout Iraq by Coalition troops, intelligence operatives and analysts. The release of Kember and his colleagues provides us with a rare glimpse of the way the British military conducts much of its business in the 21st Century.

There was a time when British military might or capability was measured in terms of battleships. This practice was triggered exactly 100 years ago, with the launch of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought.

Kember was held for 117 days

Everything about Dreadnought was new: the steam turbines which gave her an unprecedented 21 knots; the 12-inch guns twin-mounted in revolving turrets; even the speed with which she was completed.

Launched by Edward VII in February 1906 and ready for trials that October, Dreadnought represented the cutting edge in naval technology, so much so that every nation wanted several and a dreadnought race began.

Earlier vessels became known as pre-dreadnoughts and decades later, the American big-gun battleships that operated in the first Gulf War in 1991 were still known as dreadnoughts.

Today, military might is not measured in battleships or submarines, carriers, tanks, aircraft or missiles, although silhouettes of all of these have featured at some time in books comparing the world's armed forces.

Menace

We have moved on to measuring strength in terms of capability. The key capability that Britain possesses at the dawn of the 21st Century, and which absorbs a huge proportion of the annual military budget, is the UK's Special Forces.

Best known are the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) Regiments, who the Guardian newspaper estimates at about 1,000 in total. Others include specialist combat troops from the Royal Marines and Parachute Regiment, SAS-trained support troops, Intelligence Corps personnel and the civilian security service community who work with the military, for example, MI6 and GCHQ.

A more familiar image of war

This relatively new intermingling of the civilian and military Special Forces is called the multi-agency approach in military circles. All are highly skilled and supported by some of the best equipment and technology that money can buy.

Reading American war memoirs from the recent Gulf War - there are no British ones out yet - it is apparent that the front line in Baghdad, and presumably Basra, was awash with these figures during 2003. These books tell us that Americans call these civilians serving alongside military units Other Government Agencies (OGAs).

Although some former SAS men like Andy McNab have argued for more openness, the Ministry of Defence are routinely tight-lipped about anything to do with Special Forces and never comment on their day-to-day activities.

The recent public resignation of former SAS trooper, Ben Griffin, 28, who refused to return to Iraq and has now joined the anti-war lobby, reminds us of their presence in the Gulf.

Shadowy figures

Nevertheless, Kember's release gives us a rare glimpse into their current role in Baghdad and helps us to assess whether they are value for money or a secret and unaccountable growing menace to civil liberty.

Figures are hard to come by, but currently Special Forces spending may be as high as £2m per soldier invested in the SAS and SBS, according to the Scotsman newspaper. The Single Intelligence Vote (SIV), which is the budget provision for all three security and intelligence agencies, is over £1bn - we know that in 1997/8 it totalled £701 million - though this includes all the domestic services, such as MI5, as well.

For all the millions spent on them, the UK's Special Forces and their intelligence colleagues are what experts call a great "force-multiplier". A Challenger 2 tank costs £3.7m, a Royal Air Force Harrier GR7 jet £12.5m and a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer £314m.

Critics will have their own view of how these sums could be otherwise employed, but defence analysts argue that the Special Forces offer cost-effective strategic solutions for a tactical price.

Former SAS soldier Griffin refused to go back to Iraq

Although we spend lots on these shadowy figures, their story can never be told for real and understandable reasons of operational secrecy, but they are in many ways unsung heroes. Recognition and medals rarely come to them, so what do they actually do?

Apparently, Kember's release came partly through the chance arrest of a suspect, a quick and very skilled interrogation and - using already-known intelligence data - the launch of a long planned and finely honed hostage-busting mission just three hours later. Not a series of events usually associated with battle group infantry soldiers. This was the fusion of the best counter-terrorist expertise in the world.

Some, with their exceptional language skills, often working in pairs and in great danger, will have mingled on the streets, picking up information that analysts turn into intelligence. Back at base, linguists question the suspects brought in.

Squalid

Only they can piece together what they learn and fit seemingly innocent facts into an overall picture. Often the suspects are released without realising they have divulged anything at all. Others mount long surveillance missions from squalid hides, hardly moving for weeks on end, watching suspects and those they meet.

There are those at the sharp end of Special Forces combat, bursting in on hostages like Kember or attacking terrorists before they can explode a device. They are superbly fit and operate by instinct - we are told that Kember's release took just two minutes.

Elsewhere, working in a variety of languages - but rarely English - colleagues listen over the airwaves for significant broadcasts, monitor mobile phone conversations or e-mail chat rooms for hours on end. The most mind-numbing of tasks, often sustained by sheer will-power, caffeine and tobacco, yet a vital contribution and a rare skill. How many of us can understand a technical discussion on bomb making at four in the morning, delivered in an obscure Arab dialect?

Vigils were held for the hostages

Together, they amount to under 5% of the 8,000-strong total British force in Iraq, according to the US analysts Rand, yet this is how the real war is being won. Yes, the visible side of Britain's military effort are those soldiers in their desert camouflage uniforms, patrolling the streets - if possible in berets and without sunglasses hiding their eyes (a vital sign of trust in the Arab world), chatting to the locals as much as possible.

In some provinces there's real trust, in Basra, for example. Yet in other British-run areas trouble persists. There isn't a shooting or explosion every day in the British sectors and in some ways 100 lives in an extraordinarily low figure - none the less regrettable - for three years of military operations in a hostile environment.

Yet in the shadow world, this war is relentless. Their success is difficult to measure for it involves preventing enemy activity, which by definition is impossible to quantify. Only rarely is there a triumph that hits the headlines, like Norman Kember's release.

It reminds us that there this another persistent war being fought far away from the media's scrutiny and one that will ensure victory or defeat, not just in Iraq but in every conflict the 21st Century has to throw at us.

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Your comments

Maybe now all these anti-war, think they know-it-all people will come to understand that the Special Forces of this country, and along with the regular forces, the best in the world, actually save more lives than they take by their actions. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen of our country deserve our understanding and support for doing a very difficult job.
Tam, Motherwell

given that we paid the ransom to the terrorists for kember and company to be released and that there were no guards at their location wouldnt it have been cheaper to hire a taxi to pick them up rather than pretend our sas had 'rescued' them. Yet another example of government spin.
steve, brum uk

What a load of absolute guff... If they're so secretive "their story can never be told for real and understandable reasons of operational secrecy" how can an entire article be created about them? This is pure propaganda plain and simple, is this information taken wholesale from british army "Intelligence" ? In any case even if we are supposed to admire and aspire to be one of these soldiers this article glamourises the situation in Iraq ignoring the moral implications of engaging in kidnap and torture of members of a civilian population.
Sean, Dublin, Ireland

The SAS....... well superior to all other combat troops. severly underpaid for the bravery, comitment and proffessionalism of these man. britain should be proud to have such troops. keep up the good work lads.
Dan, nottingham

"...yet this is how the real war is being won." Is it really being won ? And in such a way as no-one knows this ? How will we know it's won, then ? As for the release of Norman Kember, I am still genuinely looking for a reason that there were no kidnappers in the vicinity at the time. An explanation I have seen - that they escaped out the back - is just ridiculous. I don't believe the SAS were involved at all, apart from intelligence gathering.
JFM, LONDON, UK

Oh great, we can feel good about the war in Iraq because we can rest assured that secretly we are fighting a shadow war there. Sure people are dying every day but when 10 people die, we should think, "Wow, that could have been 100 people but for the fantastic work that our boys are doing". No. Lets just stop again to remember that this war was illegal and that ANY death from insurgency actions is ultimately the responsibility of Bush and Blair. Nothing good will ever come of there decision to invade.
Richard, Manchester

Let's hope that by the time they retire our treatment of the old has improved to give them the care they will need. There are ex-special forces in old age today being treated like second class citizens (as are all the aged)- this should be a wake-up call for all of us. My son is a Marine and I know what he went through in one year of training - let alone what the future holds.
Lindsay, UK

having worked in this community it is hard not to admire those who are still there today, apart from 1 who quit and will not be mentioned. I and my brother salute these people for what they do day in and day out in all circumstances. Those terrorist organisations both past, present and future have and will face retribution for their acts - carry on lads keep us proud!
Chris, UK

"It reminds us that there this another persistent war being fought far away from the media's scrutiny" Yes - isn't that the truth!
Paul, Luzern Switzerland

Being a member of the armed force, I fully appreciated the work that our special forces do. I have worked with these people on many occasions and feel proud and glad that they are on our side. People are not fully aware that these forces have been operating in many countries ever since World War 2 and have helped shape the way the world is today (espcially in the gulf region). Keep up the good work!!!
John Charlton, Kent / England

An uninformative mish mash of government press release, breathless pulp thriller prose and military recruitment material. Presumably the author is on some sort of MOD retainer.
Billy Hitchcock, Croydon, England

Good report, we should scale down the large service units. Concentrate on smaller type units like SAS/SBS Keeping Paras and Marines as they are by far the best trained trops in the world. Be Proud
Robert Peel, windsor

I have the highest regard for our Special services personnel and they should always have full service and public backing.Language skils and being able to melt in with the local populace wherever they are involved is key, in addition to their other neceaasry skills mentioned. Keep the good work up
Alastair Clarke, Leamington Spa UK

The British patrol the calmer sections of Iraq and do so very professionally. But in the more violent parts the only way troops can operate is by the backing of an airforce and artillary that are always available to bomb opponents and civilians get killed in the process. Perhaps your article should of reflected this.
Peter, London

There has been an added bonus from the Special forces you don't mention - the impact of their methods means the quality of ordinary soldiers has also increased considerably in the last twenty years, such that we now find Warrant Officers routinely filling roles previously requiring high-ranking commissioned officers. Even the ordinary squaddie is now not very far below the standard of the SAS twenty years ago.
Jel, Brussels

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