Sunday 16 March 2014

Labour faces more flak on handling of war after TV film

The Government is set for a fresh row over its handling of the war in Iraq when a new BBC documentary about the conflict, featuring unprecedented "behind-the-scenes" footage of the military planning, is broadcast next month.

The series will reveal that British military commanders were much less bullish about the progress of the war than ministers disclosed.

It shows generals expressing concerns that the siege of Basra would turn into another Stalingrad, and criticising the "shock and awe" bombing campaign as much less effective than it appeared.

The BBC2 documentary will also fuel the row over whether the war was justified, with Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, repeatedly insisting that coalition troops would find Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

The corporation was given exclusive access to troops, politicians and military planners to make the seven-part "fly-on-the-wall" documentary, Fighting the War. As well as insights from soldiers on the ground, the corporation was allowed, for the first time, into the bunkers of Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) in Northwood, west London - the nerve centre of British military operations around the world.

The BBC spent two and a half years negotiating with the Ministry of Defence for permission to film in PJHQ. The results provide significant fresh insight into the conduct of the war.

In one scene at Northwood, General Robert Fry, of the Royal Marines, describes how the planned "shock and awe" offensive had become nothing more than "dribbling into something". Another has General Robin Brimms, commander of the British forces in southern Iraq, discussing the plans to bomb the Ba'ath party headquarters in Basra, the country's second city.

He warns that the coalition would face a drawn-out and costly, Stalingrad-like siege, if the attacks failed to precipitate a rebellion among local Iraqis. Despite the unprecedented access it gave the corporation, the armed services had no editorial control over the programme and some of the results are likely to cause embarrassment. They include soldiers using small plastic toy tanks in their training to identify allied forces and thereby avoid "friendly fire".

Troops are also shown criticising the lack of basic equipment, such as desert-coloured fatigues and boots. One soldier talks of being "gazumped" after learning that uniforms intended for his unit have gone instead to another unit with "higher priority".

Neil Grant, the series producer, said the aim had been simply to tell the "authoritative story of . . . what it means to go to war". He added: "The series focuses on individuals in the war zone and how political decisions affect what happens on the battlefield." Tony Blair does not take part in the programme, but the Defence Secretary is repeatedly asked about the proof of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Hoon is adamant that they exist. "Up there somewhere in Iraq there are weapons of mass destruction and we will find them," he says.

The timing of the documentary, which begins on June 15, and Mr Hoon's comments are likely to fuel the debate over the conflict as the hunt continues for evidence that Saddam had such weapons.

Jane Root, controller of BBC2, said: "We have been able to follow this conflict in a way no one has ever done before. There's a level of humanity and great storytelling that has never been seen."


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