CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

operation around Fallujah, a political storm broke in the UK, in part because of a
perceived link to the US Presidential election and in part because the dangers the battle-
group was expected to face in the new area of operations were considered to have been
heightened by the US approach to peacekeeping. The following quotations represent
concerns expressed to the Defence Secretary by MPs on both sides of the House of
Commons 129 :
Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab): Will my right hon. Friend accept
that there is a clear perception—among those, such as me, who opposed the war
and those who supported it—that British troops have been more intelligently and
sensitively led in Iraq than the US forces? At a time when two thirds of Iraqi
civilians who are killed die at the hands of the coalition, is not this the time to
review the conduct of the war rather than to place British forces, which have
done a fantastic job in their own way, under the command of the US?
Mr. Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con): I am one
of those who continue to support the war ……. Will the Secretary of State
explain how our different approach will not end up creating huge problems for
us in the conduct of operations under the command, or associated command, of
the Americans?
Mr. Robin Cook (Livingston) (Lab): Will my right hon. Friend confirm that it
is the restraint that has been shown by British troops in peacekeeping that has
earned them respect among the Iraqis? Will it really be possible for them to
maintain that restraint if they are deployed to a US sector that has been policed
for more than a year by US forces who have not shown the same level of
restraint? Does my right hon. Friend recall that the last time US forces besieged
Falluja, they left Iraq in uproar over the many civilian casualties? In assessing
the request, will he consider carefully the risk to British troops, in that if they
free up US forces for the next attack they may be seen by some Iraqis as equally
responsible for civilian casualties over which neither he nor they will have any
control whatever?
Mr. Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Con): Does the Secretary of State accept
that the difference between the British and American approaches to
peacekeeping is not just a question of defending themselves against attack—
British troops are just as robust in defending themselves against direct attack as
any of their allies—but involves an approach to peacekeeping based on trying to
keep the support of all the favourably disposed, non-insurgent civilian
population? As the latest deployment is plainly intended to facilitate a further
assault on Falluja, will the Government take the opportunity to try to exercise
more influence on the Americans in their conduct of operations? In particular,
will they stress the need to ensure that the force used is proportionate to the
threat that is definitely known, and that action is conducted on a basis that
minimises the threat to civilians and reduces the amount of air and artillery
attack on densely populated areas of a city?
108