Secretary
of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon:
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. I want first
of all to say something about the appalling television
pictures which the Iraqi regime have released to the
media of what is claimed to be dead from the United
Kingdom. This is a flagrant and sickening breach of
the Geneva Convention. Sadly this is typical behaviour
of Saddam Hussein and his regime. We have yet to be
able to undertake a formal identification, but I do
regret to say that we do believe that the pictures are
of two of our Servicemen who up to now have been listed
as being missing. Next of kin have now been informed.
On behalf of the government I offer my condolences to
the families and friends of these two Servicemen who
died in the service of their country.
With
each new conflict, media reporting benefits from the
latest technological developments. Over the past week
I have been struck not only by the speed of communication
from theatre to our television screens, but by the concentration
on frontline activity and specific incidents. That is
why at events like these I believe it is useful to set
out the wider context. There is quite properly great
interest in what is happening at the frontline, but
this can mean that many of the specialist tasks in which
our Servicemen and Servicewomen are engaged are ignored,
in favour of the apparently most dramatic events. Admiral
Boyce will speak in a moment about the work of these
members of the Armed Forces who do not take part directly
in combat operations, but who provide vital support.
But
the focus on individual incidents also detracts from
an understanding of the bigger picture. That is why
in recent Parliamentary statements I have been speaking
about the obvious progress which the coalition has made
in the context of the military campaign objectives which
we published as a government at the start of the conflict.
Coalition
forces are making good progress in overcoming the resistance
of the Iraqi security forces with great courage and
great resilience. The contrast between the tactics of
the coalition and those directed by the Iraqi regime
could not be greater - the coalition, whose Armed Forces
are made up of men and women who made a free choice
to serve their country; the Iraqi regime, whose security
forces are motivated either by fear or by hatred (briefing
slide).
Whereas
the coalition makes strenuous efforts to employ the
minimum use of force, the Iraqi regime places no such
limits on its security forces. Contrast the coalition's
careful targeting and the use of precision guided missiles
designed to minimise the risk of civilian casualties
with the indiscriminate military action which is the
hallmark of the Iraqi regime. There have been reports
for example of some of the regime's irregular forces
deliberately targeting civilians in their own towns
and cities.
Likewise
whilst the coalition acts in accordance with the Geneva
Convention, the Iraqi regime parades coalition prisoners
of war on Iraqi state television, in direct violation
of Iraq's obligations under the Convention.
Our
most important task within the campaign objectives is
to deny Iraq use of its weapons of mass destruction.
Coalition efforts have centred on disabling command
and control facilities, through which the Iraqi regime
would order the use of such weapons. In contrast, we
do have evidence that the Iraqi regime is prepared to
use weapons of mass destruction. We already know from
Iraqi prisoners of war that protective equipment was
issued to southern Iraqi divisions. British forces have
made significant discoveries in recent days which show
categorically that Iraqi troops are prepared for the
use of such horrific weapons. Admiral Boyce will expand
on these finds in a few moments, but I want to make
it clear that any Iraqi Commander who sanctions the
use of weapons of mass destruction, which is a war crime,
will be held personally responsible for his action.
Ultimately
it will be the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime that
will guarantee disarmament, and so this is a key objective
of the military campaign. To achieve this we have been
seeking to isolate the regime at all levels in every
part of Iraq, primarily by the use of precision attacks.
I
do want to deal with allegations about the explosions
at the Baghdad market place. We have all seen reports
of 15 fatalities. The coalition has made clear that
we did not target the market place, and subsequently
the United States has said that there was no conclusive
evidence that the coalition was responsible. Although
investigations continue into this tragic incident, it
could clearly have been caused by fall-out from the
regime's anti-aircraft fire, or indeed from the failure
of one of Iraq's own missiles.
In
stark contrast, Saddam Hussein has regularly claimed
we have killed civilians, or destroyed civilian infrastructure
in the past, only for those claims to be shown to be
entirely false. For example a few weeks ago Saddam Hussein
claimed six civilians were killed and 15 were injured
on an alleged coalition raid on Basrah. There were in
fact no civilian casualties resulting from our actions
in the No Fly Zones at that time.
The
coalition recognises its responsibilities to the Iraqi
people. During and immediately after conflict, our responsibilities
will include the provision of humanitarian assistance,
organising basic services and establishing a secure
and safe environment inside Iraq. Compare that to the
regime, which has allowed a grave humanitarian crisis
to develop over many years. Saddam Hussein's rule has
been disastrous for the people of Iraq, with 60% of
the population dependent on the United Nations' oil
for food programme, and more than half the population
in rural areas without access to safe drinking water.
We have always known that we would face humanitarian
difficulties when conducting operations in Iraq, and
we have certainly planned and prepared for this. Saddam
Hussein's disregard for the Iraqi people's economic
wellbeing was shown in his intention to undertake a
scorched earth policy, setting light to the oilwells
which embody the economic future of Iraq and its people.
This has been prevented through the prompt action of
coalition forces.
This
campaign is only in its eighth day. We all wish to see
a speedy end to conflict. The campaign is going to plan.
We are, with our coalition partners, involved in a deliberate
and cautious endeavour. We will not stop until Saddam
Hussein and his appalling regime has fallen from power
and weapons of mass destruction dismantled. But we have
time to see this through. Saddam Hussein's time is running
out.
Chief
of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce
Ladies and Gentlemen, before I give you some detail
of some of the elements of our ongoing campaign, I would
first of all like to echo the words of the Secretary
of State and send my personal condolences on behalf
of the Armed Forces to the families of personnel who
have lost their lives in recent engagements.
You
will have heard earlier on this morning, if you have
been watching it, some of the details of the unfolding
campaign by Air Marshal Brian Burridge who is our National
Contingent Component Commander out in Qatar, and I don't
intend to cover all the ground that he did then. But
I would say at the moment that the military plan and
the coalition campaign is being conducted well within
expected parameters.
The
poor weather that they have been experiencing out there
in Iraq over the last couple of days, the reduced visibility,
now has been clearing. But the slowdown that it caused
has allowed our combat power close to Baghdad and Basrah,
that is to say the armour, the infantry and the vital
sustained logistics, it has allowed them some sphere
of consolidation and recuperation.
The
air campaign is continuing apace with the Royal Air
Force flying around 100 sorties a day, and they have
successfully attacked and destroyed targets, ranging
from regime headquarters to Iraqi forces in the field,
and they have knocked out numerous tanks. And in addition,
our helicopters have also been supporting our forces
throughout the United Kingdom area of operations.
I
thought what I would like to do now is just to give
you a little more detail on one or two of the operations
we have been involved in, to give you an example of
how extremely well our people are performing right across
the board. Let me start with one example. A couple of
days ago in the early hours of the morning, Iraqi forces,
including tanks and personnel, moved south-east from
Basrah towards 3 Commando Brigade on the Al Faw Peninsula.
Now 3 Commando Brigade is not fitted with tanks of its
own, but the brigade co-ordinated and deployed a combination
of Milan anti-tank missiles and hand-held anti-tank
weapons to engage the enemy forces, and they managed
to stop a number of the tanks. But it soon became apparent
that the threat was more significant than at first thought,
and so they requested assistance from coalition aircraft
which provided close air support to our forces on the
ground. And with the fire power from this support, combined
with that of armed helicopters and artillery, the enemy
tanks were halted, and in fact the 3 Commando Brigade
have now confirmed that a total of 19 enemy T55 tanks
were destroyed.
Another
small example of some action going on, because at about
the same time as this was happening, to the north of
3 Commando Brigade in Al Zubayr, there had been a number
of attacks going on against our forces, and 7th Armoured
Brigade identified a compound in the south of the town,
and this contained a number of buildings, including
a Baath Party headquarters which they were able to destroy
in concert with Air Forces. They have now sealed the
town and are keeping up the pressure on it.
And
most recently I can tell you that earlier on this morning
a squadron of 14 Challenger 2 tanks of the Royal Scots
Dragoon Guards were heading south towards the Al Faw
Peninsula to go and reinforce 3 Commando Brigade, and
they came across 14 Iraqi T55 tanks. The Scots Dragoon
Guards squadron engaged the Iraqi tanks whilst on the
move and destroyed all 14, and none of our Challengers
was damaged, and our Dragoon Guards then pressed on
and overran two associated Iraqi infantry positions.
More
generally we are consolidating our position around Basrah,
and also in the Ramaila oil ields, and we now have got
civilian contractors at work under our protection to
restore the oilfields to normal working, and three of
the nine oil fires have now been extinguished, somewhat
quicker than certainly I expected. That is really good
news.
On
another aspect of how we are doing our business, we
are working hard to gain the confidence of the local
people. Of course we have got lots of experience in
this sort of field of winning the trust of local populations
and giving them back confidence to return to some sort
of sense of normality, and our efforts here at the moment
are focused on Umm Qasr and Ramalah town.
Meanwhile,
as we work the area, we are finding out about some other
things as well. The use of chemical and biological weapons
against our forces has always been one of our chief
concerns, we certainly know that Saddam Hussein possesses
such a capability and that his army is not shy of using
them. We certainly remember the terrible results of
their use in the past, and making sure that the regime
does not get the opportunity to deploy these weapons
has been a high priority in our planning and target
selection over the last few days. What has not been
clear to us is just how ready to use the WMD the regime
has been. However, as the Secretary of State has indicated,
our forces have made some significant discoveries in
the past few days.
A short bit of film that I would like to show you now
shows soldiers of the Royal
Irish Regiment, currently in the Ramaila oilfields,
searching a recently deserted Iraqi command position.
The soldiers who fled this post left in a hurry, and
they left not only their equipment but also paperwork
and other equipment which is now being examined by our
intelligence staffs. There were numerous chemical weapons
protection suits and respirators left behind, and this
kit was effective, well cared for and in good working
order. Now we have to ask ourselves why Iraqi commanders
felt that infantry in this part of Iraq should be issued
with weapons of mass destruction equipment and protection.
For various reasons of security, I can't tell you exactly
where this find was made, other than that it was within
the oilfields. But I can tell you that we estimate that
there were upwards of some 100 suits across the site,
along with other related equipment, and as I say we
will be analysing all this very carefully over the coming
days.
But
it is not just the use of weapons of mass destruction
which marks out this regime. On the battlefield, our
forces have already been engaged in trying to clean
up and make safe parts of the country we control, not
just for our forces but more importantly for the innocent
Iraqis who actually live there. A particular hazard
we are coming across are anti-personnel mines which
we are finding scattered across the whole battle space.
We have teams of our explosive
ordnance disposal experts setting about the long
task of clearing these things, and we are also finding
larger anti-tank mines laid in patterns alongside the
civilian road, and I have an example here. Obviously
a painstaking task and quite a dangerous one as well,
and when they are found by poking your device into the
ground with a long stick, the mine is then counter-detonated
and you can imagine what that explosion would do to
any vehicle.
We
are also coming across booby traps as we clear the area,
and of course these take a huge amount of time and effort
to make safe. And here you can see British
Army sappers clearing a pile of abandoned weapons.
What we can't show you are the methods used for checking
for wires under the sand which are attached to the grenades
we are finding, but you can see here how every single
weapon in the pile that has been looked at by these
soldiers, has been painstakingly x-rayed to check for
internal booby traps. And of course the sort of things
we are looking for are designed to explode in the hands
of the man making the weapons safe by operating the
moving parts.
Another
immediate task facing us, as I mentioned before, is
to get humanitarian aid into the country fast, and here
we are concentrating largely on the port of Umm Qasr.
The Royal Navy has been working non-stop to clear
the waterways into the port, and indeed they have
now cleared an area some 40 miles long, 2 miles wide,
and they have blown up 100 items, and indeed just last
night we found 2 more mines which we are in the process
of disposing of.
We
go about our business here using underwater vehicles,
launched from a Royal Navy minehunter, and we have done
that off the Al Faw peninsula, and this particular vehicle
has been used extensively. In difficult working conditions
near the seabed, it is used to identify suspicious objects,
often with the use of divers both day and night, in
zero visibility, and this is dangerous work indeed for
the divers. When the officer in charge is satisfied
that the possible mine target has been identified, the
submersible drops a demolition charge which destroys
the object.
All
this work that we are doing here revolves around our
desire to start the aid operation as soon as we can.
We had hoped to bring the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir
Galahad into Umm Qasr and unload a significant quantity
of humanitarian aid in about an hour from now, but obviously
this most recent find of mines has delayed us, we have
missed the tide and we probably now can't get Sir
Galahad in until tomorrow. And Sir Galahad
will be followed by two Australian vessels who are loaded
with grain, and water and fuel tankers have also been
hired in Kuwait and they are all just simply the vanguard
of a massive humanitarian operation.
Meanwhile
also, again as I mentioned before, we are building a
three kilometre water pipeline from Kuwait into southern
Iraq which will give us about one million litres of
water a day, and our engineers have been restoring the
water treatment plant in Umm Qasr which is going to
give us three million litres of water a day when that
is finished very shortly in about a day and a half's
time. And our engineers are also making preparations
for restoring electrical power and sanitation.
So
you can see that we are busy. And of course I must not,
in talking about these activities right up in the frontline,
I must not overlook the vital role which so many of
our other support personnel have been playing in the
operation, from the suppliers in the depots, to the
movers at the sea ports and the airports, from the clerks
on our supply tracking systems, to the truck drivers
who deliver the kit to the front, to those who are caring
for the welfare needs of our people, such as mail delivery
for example moved so quickly by our postal and courier
staff, to the phone and e-mail links installed in …
areas, everyone is going flat out, and everyone is contributing
equally importantly to our overall plan.
Question:
How conclusive did you think the finding of the suits
was that Saddam planned to use biological or chemical
weapons, were there any delivery systems found alongside
them? And perhaps a linked question, there are reports
this morning that the Americans may plan to use in urban
warfare non-lethal chemical weapons, what would you
say about that?
Mr
Hoon:
It is obviously not conclusive but it is clearly indicative
of an intention, otherwise why equip his own forces
to deal with a threat which he knows we do not have.
So it must only be to protect his forces from his own
use of those weapons which we know he has.
Admiral
Boyce:
As I said, we found some documentation and that may
well prove what the Secretary of State has just said.
Mr
Hoon:
On your second question, as you are aware non-lethal
chemical weapons are permitted for dealing with riot
control, the United Kingdom is fully signed up to the
Chemical Weapons Convention and they would not be used
by the United Kingdom in any military operations or
on any battlefield.
Question:
Can I ask two questions, one about Basrah? Air Marshal
Burridge talked this morning about the motivation and
what might be going on behind some of the Iraqis that
came out, he suggested that some of these vehicle crews
were being forced out at gunpoint, whether they themselves
were having guns brandished at them or their families
were. Do we have any evidence of that. What on earth
were those tanks doing sitting out in the open against
superior forces? And finally, you talked about the operational
pause which had been afforded us by the sand storm,
how are you managing to give down time to tank and forward
units that are obviously working at a very high battle
tempo?
Mr
Hoon:
The situation in Basrah, as Air Marshal Burridge indicated,
remains very confused. We had some indications that
evening of some firing by Saddam Hussein's security
forces using mortars against Iraqi people. We are not
sure what was going on. We certainly know that there
was an attack by those security forces against Iraqis
in the city, and that is why we responded, as we will
continue to do to assist them by bombing the Baath Party
headquarters, and that certainly seems to have led to
some reduction in the level of activity by regime security
forces. I can only speculate about the tanks, and I
have to tell you that when I saw teletext after my briefing
yesterday evening to discover that there was a column
of 120 tanks, it was suggested, advancing out of Basrah,
I was somewhat concerned. This hadn't been mentioned
in my briefing. It turned out to be three tanks advancing
out of Basrah, and clearly those tanks were dealt with.
It may be that they were testing out our determination
to deal with them, but I assure you they were destroyed.
Admiral
Boyce:
And we are very happy, if they continue to come out
into the open like that, we will deal with them when
they do, unless they want to come out and surrender.
As to your question about rest and recuperation, absolutely
right, any battle commander must be concerned about
making sure his people are properly rested, and after
the extremely high speed really effectively that the
V Corps made their way up to where they are at the moment,
Karbala, that must have been very, very demanding on
the people concerned because they were encountering
resistance on the way. And as I say, the weather which
closed us out for a couple of days to a large extent
must have come with the view of a sigh of relief by
the commanders who took the opportunity to rest their
people up a bit before the next engagement.
Question:
There is a lot of talk this morning that the Americans
are reinforcing themselves, but they want reinforcements
from us as well. Could you clarify that?
Mr
Hoon:
We are absolutely confident that we have sufficient
forces in theatre to deliver the military objectives
that we set out. Clearly there will be from time to
time routine replacements, particularly of individuals
or small units who have been engaged in very intense
activity, certainly those for example who have been
responsible for getting our forces into theatre. Equally
the Americans have a substantial force available that
will begin to arrive in theatre in due course, those
forces are part of the original package which the United
States designated as being available for operations
in and around Iraq.
Admiral
Boyce:
I do think it is also important to remember that we
are part of a coalition, it is not the US and the UK,
this is a mixed force. We have something of a third
of the combat armoured power of that coalition force
at the moment and the commander must make best use of
his forces to whatever particular immediate operational
and tactical needs he has. So we don't feel that we
are particularly confined to a particular area on our
own, we will be mixing in with the American forces in
the same way that we do for example with our Air Force
and indeed with our Naval forces.
Question:
You mentioned the three tanks that left Basrah yesterday.
Original reports from military sources did speak of
an armoured column of between 70 - 120 vehicles, there
have been other examples, I think a column that was
reported leaving Baghdad which turned out to be much
smaller, also from military sources. Are you worried
about the apparent confusion on the battlefield, or
are you not worried because you are receiving superior
and different information?
Admiral
Boyce:
I have been reminded when looking at that question myself
this morning, having been woken up a number of times
a night about this column coming out, by General John
Reith, who is our Chief of Joint Operations, saying
that back in 1991 when he was out in Desert Storm the
same sort of thing happened then, and of course that
night, when you do have the passage of traffic coming
out of cities, a wise commander will assume the worst
to start off with, get ready to deal with it, while
he evaluates, analyses and classifies what he is actually
seeing. And of course with our good friends from the
media embedded with us, they will hear those deliberations
going on, could this be such and such - a proper question
to ask - well they usually jump on that and turn it
into this is what is actually happening and suddenly
we have the sort of news we had last night. So these
are questions which rightly must be asked by the Commander
when large volumes of traffic are detected, it does
take time to classify it properly at night time to see
whether it is a threat or not.
Question:
You mentioned this is day eight. What turning point
in the war so far, or in the next week perhaps, would
give you the sort of confidence that the coalition can
take Baghdad in due course, and do you have any sort
of feeling, as some Americans seem to be saying today,
that this war could go on for several months rather
than weeks?
Mr
Hoon:
I have never suggested that you should believe some
of the commentators who talked about a short campaign.
I said in my very first statement to the House of Commons
that this would not be a short campaign, that we would
be engaged in military operations to prevent Saddam
Hussein using weapons of mass destruction, and obviously
to deal with the regime that harbours them, and that
continues. I think the successes that have been achieved
so far I have already set out, securing the southern
area of Iraq very largely, ensuring that those command
and communication decisions cannot reach other parts
of Iraq, and clearly the most remarkable advance northwards
by the coalition forces, all of which gives me every
confidence in being able to say that we will be able
to achieve those other campaign aims in due course.
Question:
You began your briefing today by condemning the Iraqi
regime for breaching the Geneva Convention. Haven't
you just decided bombing of television stations in Baghdad
and Basrah which also breaches the Geneva Convention?
Mr
Hoon:
What we have been consistently doing is disrupting the
military command and control facilities in Iraq, I set
that out as part of our basic campaign aims and that
continues to be the case. If military command and control
is not disrupted, clearly the regime has a military
advantage, and that is the purpose of the targeting
and that will continue to be how we deal with those
particular targets.
Question:
Inaudible.
Mr
Hoon:
The difficulty in dealing with Saddam Hussein's regime,
that we have known over very many years that he is utterly
callous in his disregard for the welfare of his own
people, the point I have been making to you this morning,
and we know full well of many occasions on which he
co-locates civilian and military activity. If we are
to deal with the military aspect then we have to target
very carefully, I assure you that that is done.
Question:
Does the parachuting into the Kurdish controlled part
of Iraq of US airborne troops, does that represent the
opening up of a northern front. What other equipment
might joint them, could it for example include tanks,
and what would you hope that any such northern front
would achieve?
Mr
Hoon:
It is obviously important, and we have always designed
the campaign to achieve this, that the regime has to
deal with a number of different threats to its existence
from a number of different directions, and a northern
front will assist in demonstrating to Saddam Hussein,
as I said at the outset, that his days are numbered,
and Mike may wish to comment more fully on that.
Admiral
Boyce:
The force out there will be building, they will be important
to fix the Iraqis eyes to the north, as well as they
will be fixed to the east, and the south, and the west.
So as the Secretary of State says, it shows an envelopment
of the country which will hopefully persuade Saddam
Hussein that he is not going to win.
Question:
Can I return to the discovery of the respirators and
the chemicals weapons kit. Is there any evidence at
all that there was any offensive desire here at all,
or could this as easily be the routine issue of material
to an army for defensive purposes, much as we do to
our Armed Forces, particularly to an army that has in
the past of course faced chemical weapons attacks from
Iran?
Admiral
Boyce:
There is no evidence so far in what we found there,
they ought to be defensive for protection suits and
respirators and so forth, but as I said, we found other
bits of equipment and documentation which we are still
analysing and that may point us in other directions.
But so far we didn't find anything there which was offensive,
no.
Question:
According to your information, how successful has Saddam
Hussein been in remaining in touch with his forces to
direct them, and if so, what communication is he using?
Mr
Hoon:
Inevitably modern technology allows a range of different
forms of communication, and although we have been very
successful in removing that communication from time
to time, clearly there are other means whereby contact
can be maintained, simple means of telephone communication
is still available and a great deal of effort is being
made to address the ways in which the regime communicates,
particularly to its outlying areas.
Question:
There were reports a couple of days ago that CS gas
may have been used, I think it might have been in connection
with the taking of the Baath Party headquarters outside
Basrah. Could you confirm whether or not CS gas has
been used, and secondly does this come under the Chemical
Weapons Treaty?
Mr
Hoon:
Can I make clear that the attack on the Baath Party
headquarters in Basrah was done from the air and was
not done in that way that would require forces to be
on the ground and in close proximity. I made clear that
the United Kingdom is fully signed up to the Chemical
Weapons Convention and that would seem to me to preclude
the use of chemicals in those circumstances.
Question:
CS gas is precluded?
Mr
Hoon:
That would be my understanding, yes.
Question:
The launching of missiles today at Kuwait, would this
mean that his capability in the southern part of Iraq
was still intact, or he is launching it from further
afield?
Mr
Hoon:
I don't believe that his capability is intact, we very
seriously degraded that capability and his ability to
launch missiles. But we have always been aware that
this regime hid away its missiles, not least in civilian
areas, and from time to time they will emerge. We have
dealt with them by and large when that has happened,
but obviously on occasions they will get lucky and we
will have to go on in our determined effort to deal
with those threats as and when we see them.
Question:
… was this weapons of mass destruction?
Mr
Hoon:
This doesn't confirm it, but it heightens our concern,
certainly.
Question:
Could you give us some assessment of what is happening
in western Iraq, which is something of a media black
hole, I don't think anybody is embedded out there. Since
the taking of the airfields over the weekend, can you
tell us anything more about progress there?
Admiral
Boyce:
There are some forces, but it is a black hole, it is
a very empty part of Iraq, it is mostly sand and obviously
we will be keeping an eye on what is actually going
on there, but clearly there is no major effort there.
Question:
Could you just clarify what is going on around Basrah
and Al Faw, because you were talking about how there
were reports of 70 - 120 tanks and armoured personnel
carriers coming out of Basra, and it turned out to be
3, and then you were telling us about how the Royal
Tank Regiment attacked and destroyed 14. Just how many
do you believe are roaming around there?
Mr
Hoon:
That was a previous incident, remember.
Admiral
Boyce:
What was being reported last night, the 70 - 120, was
what was going on last night, the incident I described
about what went on this morning is completely separate
from what was actually happening last night.
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