Downing Street Says » Norman Kember

The PMOS told journalists that at the beginning of Cabinet the Prime Minster had expressed on behalf of the government his very deep appreciation and admiration for the outstanding professionalism, courage and commitment shown by all those, military and civilian, involved in this operation. The Foreign Secretary had also spoken about Mr Kember’s rescue on his way into Cabinet this morning. He had said that the rescue was the result of weeks and weeks of careful planning and British forces had played a prominent role in the multinational rescue operation. He could not go into details of the operation for reasons journalists would understand. Mr Kember was well and was presently at the British Embassy in Baghdad. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to Mrs Kember this morning very shortly after learning of Mr Kember’s rescue.

Asked if he could add any more detail about the operation, the PMOS said he could not get into the detail because the best element that people involved in this kind of operation had was the element of surprise and, God forbid this ever happened again, we did not want to take away that option. Asked if there were any casualties, the PMOS said not that he was aware. Asked if Iraqi forces were involved, the PMOS said it was a multinational force operation and British forces had played a prominent role.

Asked what message this sent to insurgents, the PMOS said that it sent out a message both about our determination to do all we could to protect people and a message about the professionalism and commitment of our forces. Asked how this fitted into the suggestion of a civil war in Iraq, the PMOS said that both John Reid and Hilary Benn had been in Iraq recently and both had reported back to Cabinet on their visit. They had paid tribute to the work our military, international development and Foreign Office people were doing out there. John Reid had also said that everyone he had talked to, no matter which Iraqi community they were from or what position they held in or outside government believed that there was not a civil war. There had been a deliberate attempt to try and provoke sectarian tensions but there had been an equal determination to overcome that attempt, not least the efforts to form a unity government. You needed to listen to the voices on the ground. Mr Allawi, himself, had clarified his remarks saying he did not believe Iraq was yet at that point.

Asked if it was a long discussion at Cabinet, the PMOS said it was a brief discussion, which had begun with expressions of delight at Mr Kember’s release and then naturally flowed into the recent experiences of John Reid and Hilary Benn.

2 Comments »

What credibility does Allawi actually have? He’s a puppet!

And it’s such a shame that Kember has apparently not expressed his delight and gratitude on his rescue to those who got him out of captivity.

Note also that the PMOS did not actually confirm that Iraqi forces were involved….. A simple Yes or No would do.
Comment by Chuck Unsworth — 25 Mar 2006 on 2:54 pm | Link
It’s not clear whether the British army was operating essentially as a taxi service to pick up Norman Kember from an empty house after a tip-off, in which case all the claims about our boys risking their lives in a joint operation mounted at vast expense to save him from the consequences of his own irresponsibility would be, shall we say, excessive. The fact that Kember’s kidnappers were nowhere to be found when his place of captivity was entered strongly suggests that they had decided that there was nothing much to be gained by holding him further, and tipped off the army to taxi him home.

Clearly, peacemakers are a great irritation to professional soldiers, especially when they are eye-witnesses to the kind of bloody chaos which Blair’s invasion of Iraq has precipitated. Especially irritating if they unaccountably fail to observe the British establishment\x92s requirement that members of the US/UK occupation force are at all times to be regarded as heroes, while those Iraqis who are not content to collaborate with the occupation are fanatics and ingrates who don\x92t even deserve to have the bodies of their dead counted.

Kember should indeed be grateful – that he wasn’t killed too, as inconvenient journalists have been, to say nothing of thousands of inconvenient Iraqis. But then, do they really expect to be able to control our oil supplies just because the oil happens to be located under their country?
Comment by Michael McCarthy — 27 Mar 2006 on 2:40 pm | Link

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» Thursday, March 23, 2006

Norman Kember

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