Englishman in New York

Are British troops really better than US forces?

It came as a bit of a surprise to my friends out here! In a report from Baghdad, on Wednesday, BBC reporter Ben Brown said: “They [the British Army] think they have made more progress with the local community than perhaps the Americans have further north. There is a suspicion that the Americans are too aggressive, too confrontational. They always wear helmets and big sunglasses; the British try to wear berets wherever they can and appear to be more friendly.”

I’m sure the friendly approach will go down very well in the “triangle of death”. Tea anyone?

And do people in the UK really believe that the redeployment of the Black Watch is tied to the US election?

Over here, it’s hardly been given any attention at all. To read most newspapers, you would believe that everyone back home is more than happy to help. In fact, blink and you would miss the news story. But looking at the UK newspapers and talking to friends in England it sounds like people are still convinced that it’s all a ploy by Bush, who can’t afford to send any more troops to Iraq before Tuesday. Surely, if that was the case, he’d just redeploy 800 of the 135,000 men he already has out there?

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The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Balloting: Sharp Increase in Early Voting Alters Campaign
I spent years sitting on the other side of the Atlantic sneering at US elections which always seemed like all glitz and no substance. But here we are, one week before the election, and voters are queueing between 30 mins and four hours just to cast their ballot early. If the UK general election is even half as energetic as this Presidential campaign, it will be a miracle.

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“The soldiers I know in the Army who are voting for Kerry in this election (which is a lot more than people would think) are voting for him because they’re pissed off at Bush. They’re pissed off because of Stop Loss, tour extensions, underestimating the amount of troops needed for Iraq, the Weapons of Mass destruction thing, the legitimacy of coming to Iraq, and they feel Kerry might also get us out of here faster. Stuff like that.”

More from Colby Buzzell. Is anybody talking about this anywhere? What does it mean if soldiers vote for a man who they hope will bring them home?

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MY WAR
“Last night I was sitting down smoking a cigarette outside my room with a guy from my squad (from Michigan). And I was staring up into the stars over Mosul, when I saw a flash of a white streak across the night sky, and I freaked out and yelled, “Oh Shit!” and stood up. I thought it was a mortar or a rocket, but instead it was just a shooting star. My friend just laughed at me. That’s pretty bad when you start thinking shooting stars are mortars.”

I’m working on an interview with this US soldier, Spc Colby Buzzell, who has just returned from Iraq. His story has been all over the media so it’s hardly a scoop but his writing is really good. Annoyingly, much of the juicy stuff has been removed from the site. However, what remains is still very interesting, especially the posts near the bottom. Hopefully enough to make you want to buy his book, which I assume will be out next year!

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Private Eye ::Lookalikes
I always thought Tony Blair’s sincerity was a little fishy. Now we have proof…(Some funny lookalikes here)

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What better time to begin a weblog than 00.20 on a Thursday, almost a year to the day since I arrived in New York City? This blog is intended purely as a waste of my time and should be of no use to me personally or professionally. As such, I am sure it cannot fail.

Therefore, as an opener, I will do the only thing neccessary — speak directly to my lone audience member, Mr William Levin, and thank him very much for his advice, expertise, help and patience in setting up this site. Thank you. pdb.

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