British civilian arrested in Iraq

[ed: make that “civilian” with a very short haircut and military bearing and posture.]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A British civilian and nine Iraqis have been arrested by Iraq's border security force, a British military spokesman in the southern city of Basra told CNN Tuesday.
The spokesman could not confirm the time, location or circumstances of the arrest, but an Iraqi police official in the central city of Najaf told CNN that "10 suspected terrorists" were arrested near the Saudi border on Monday, noting that among them was a British national.
Col. Thamer Kamel with the Iraqi border guard in Najaf said a British national by the name of Colin Peter was arrested around 8 p.m. (12 noon ET) Monday along with nine Iraqis on a highway between Anbar and Najaf.
Peter claimed to be a contractor, but his passport did not support his claim, Kamel said. The group, traveling in three GMC Suburbans, was carrying machine guns and GPS satellite technology.
According to Kamel, Peter is being held by the border guard, pending a response from the British embassy.
British embassy officials in Baghdad said they could not confirm the report at this time.
In London, a spokesman with the British Foreign Office said: "We are aware of the reports that the Iraqis have arrested a British national. We are investigating the circumstances and we will have more details later on."
The arrest comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Shiite leaders in Basra and British forces.
The Governing Council in Basra cut ties with Multinational Forces after British troops freed two men that the council alleges were British undercover troops who killed an Iraqi civilian and beat a policeman.

Credit: Cnn.com, posted Tuesday 1503 GMT.

I suppose they won’t try an armored force breakout this time, but coming so soon after the Basra covert debacle of last week, this story has to be causing flop sweat on Downing Street and at Horse Guards, in London which is sort of their version of the Pentagon.

This really has all the flavor of a covert infiltration gone bad. Once again, though, there is mention of GPS equipment and weapons, but no mention of communications gear. I’ve heard in the past of things done in combat theaters, such as Viet Nam, for example, which were purely black, but there was ALWAYS a way to phone home either to request emergency exfiltration or to tell your base to send out that sealed letter you left with them. (And yes, they DO let you leave that sealed letter for your next of kin.)

These two stories trouble me in several ways. The Brits (and Australians) are supposed to be the world champs as this sort of covert military operation, if that’s what it actually was. It sure sounds like it. According to the story the Brit’s papers weren’t in order, which might indicate sloppy preparation, or the wrong man on a guard post, or, worst of all infiltration by insurgency. Lately they just can’t catch a break, can they?

Time to go, gentlemen.