THE reputation of the British Army in Iraq has suffered another serious setback. No matter how often the Ministry of Defence and senior military figures put such incidents into statistical context, emphasising that a tiny minority of soldiers have erred when compared with the 80,000 who have served in Iraq since 2003, the apparent violent indiscipline demonstrated by the troops in the video provides further evidence of an extraordinary lack of control at this period of Britain’s Operation Telic campaign.

These are not soldiers engaging in some form of unauthorised extracurricular activity, but members of a battle group sent out to deal with rioting Iraqis and to take arrested offenders for interrogation back in the barracks.

The soldiers were not part of a “rogue” unit beating up Iraqis at will. They would have been ordered to leave the British military compound to disrupt and arrest the violent demonstrators. The orders would have come from their company commander or a senior non-commissioned officer. So under what circumstances and in accordance with which rules of engagement did they feel their actions were necessary and justified?

However, it is easy to be judgmental when the only evidence available is the video footage made by a soldier who witnessed the beatings. The pictures are shocking, but I suspect they are more shocking for non-military viewers. Two years ago (when the video was taken) southern Iraq, where the British are based, was suffering from an eruption of violence as extremists turned on the occupying forces. In parts of Basra and in al-Amarah, further north, British troops were caught up in ambushes and bomb attacks and a robust response was required. Many Iraqi insurgents died.

Nevertheless, soldiers are trained to react proportionately and, after years of handling public-order incidents in Northern Ireland, the British Army has built up a reputation for fairness and, above all, discipline.

Something went wrong with this reputation between the summer of 2003 and the autumn of 2004, when Iraq was going through its most traumatic and anarchic period. The combat phase of the war had ended on May 1, 2003, but instead of switching instantly to peacekeeping duties, the British and other coalition troops found themselves facing a different war, involving insurgents, terrorists and extremist Shia militia forces. It was a violent and dangerous environment, a period when the finest attributes of the British soldier could best be demonstrated both to the Iraqi people and to the outside world.

But the golden rule of discipline at all times appears to have broken down during this period of mayhem. It has to be a matter of serious concern for the British Army and for the Government.

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