UK - Basra troops 'on another planet'

Er, no, it's the BBC that's on another planet.

Peter Grant just doesn't get it. Since he's a reporter for the left wing BBC that's understandable. Listen to this.

"This is one of the most demanding phases of Operation Telic (the British operation in Iraq) so far. For many people, it's life-changing."

Hardly a sentiment designed, at first hearing, to boost morale.

Well Peter, that's exactly why many join the military, the demanding life-changing challenge - the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

Peter continues to grope in the dark for meaning.

But the lofty prose of newspaper columnists, the arguments of retired officers, and the intricate analysis from political pundits, can often seem like signals from the dark side of the moon.

That's because none of that left wing bable put out by the left wing media resembles the truth - the truth they see everyday. The BBC's coverage of Iraq is so bad the crew of Arc Royal switched to Sky News. It wasn't just bias, it was lies by the BBC that put them off.

Paul Adams, the BBC's defence correspondent who is based at the coalition command centre in Qatar, complained that the corporation was conveying a untruthful picture of how the war was progressing. [...]

"I was gobsmacked to hear, in a set of headlines today, that the coalition was suffering 'significant casualties'. This is simply not true," Adams said in the memo.

"Nor is it true to say - as the same intro stated - that coalition forces are fighting 'guerrillas'. It may be guerrilla warfare, but they are not guerrillas," he stormed.

"Who dreamed up the line that the coalition are achieving 'small victories at a very high price?' The truth is exactly the opposite. The gains are huge and costs still relatively low. This is real warfare, however one-sided, and losses are to be expected," Adams continued.

Stop and think about that for a minute. The BBC's own reporter is complaining about the BBC lying in its reporting on Iraq. Amazing.

Peter continues in the dark.

Some soldiers will speak of "enjoying" their time in Iraq without the slightest suspicion of irony. Sylvia Ibie says her service in Iraq is a "privilege".

Why should they? Defending freedom, freeing people from slavery and butchery, fighting terrorists over there instead of over here and bringing democracy to a once enslaved nation are a "privilege".

Peter ends wondering why the man in the street doesn't support British troops in Iraq.

Another soldier pointed out that American schools send letters and pictures to their servicemen and women. Some even send them to British soldiers. So where, he wondered, was the British equivalent?

At present, all they have are discordant voices from a distant planet.

Thanks largely to the BBC Peter, thanks largely to the BBC and the left wing media.