The army in Ulster
From Lt-Col Colin Mitchell, MP Sir: The Irish debate in the House of Commons was a field day for the Speaker's Mafia — that select group of backbenchers who dominate the land of the one-eyed king; being certain to catch it because they are card-carrying members of the Archie Rice Society (Enoch Powell, Bill Deedes), the Blessed Pure (Norman St John-Stevas), Ancient Knights
(Robin Turton) or the Richard Crossman Conspiracy — whose rendering of 'Subversion Suits My Circulation' does so much to entertain our soldiers in Ulster when they snatch a few hours to catch up with Hansard.
A debate which was noteworthy in condemning violence overlooked the harsh fact that in the absence of a political solution it is the military measures to combat terrorism which are in need of scrutiny. The British Army is a blunt instrument and it has been given an impossible aim — on the one hand being told that there is a situation of urban guerrilla warfare, which by definition is one element of co-ordinated strategy to bring a revolutionary association to power, and on the other that they must prevent communal strife and cause minimum damage to the lives and welfare of innocent people. By assuming that this is the correct politico-military aim the Government and the Chiefs of Staff have condemned the Army to permanent frustration and the possibility of future humiliation. It is simply a lack of understanding of the nature of the threat, a lack of single-mindedness, pursuit of a wish-fulfilment that the initiative can be regained by a policy of containment.
Soldiers have complete understanding that the long-term solution in Ireland is political, not military — indeed for no better reason than that if this were not the case senior officers would never get promoted. But this also presupposes an understanding of the nature of urban guerrilla warfare by their political masters and some protection from local and usually short-term political maoeuvres. In the final analysis the House of Commons has as much responsibility for the correct handling of the British Army as it rightfully has for the finding of a lasting and acceptable peace in Northern Ireland. Colin Mitchell House of Commons, London SW1
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