Alex Miller
Between November 4, when they were moved to central Iraq, and November 9, four soldiers from the Scottish Black Watch regiment were killed.
On November 8, the Reuters news agency reported a British Ministry of Defence spokesman as saying "There has been one fatality and two injuries — one possibly serious — in an incident north of Camp Dogwood". The November 9 Guardian reported that a roadside bomb had caused the death. A few days earlier, on November 4, a suicide bomber at a roadside checkpoint killed three soldiers from the regiment.
According to the November 7 Observer, "The deaths of the three men came just a few days into the deployment of their unit in support of American troops preparing to attack Fallujah. The operation, even without the casualties, would have been one of the most controversial so far by British troops in Iraq."
The same issue reported that military intelligence specialists had warned British officers that up to a third of the 850-strong Black Watch could be killed or wounded, based on their summer experiences.
In Scotland, news of the latest fatalities was met with anger. In Kelty, the village in Fife that was home to "fatality" Paul Lowe, Janice Stark told the November 7 Observer: "Everyone is in a state of shock and there is now a real anti-government feeling here, ... Paul was only 19. It's too young to die. I voted Labour all my life, but I'll never vote for them again".
According to the November 8 Guardian, "The Ministry of Defence refused to comment yesterday on emails sent by Lt Col James Cowan, commanding officer of the Black Watch. He was quoted last week as saying the regiment expected to come under heavy assault, adding: 'I hope the government knows what it has got itself into. I'm not sure they fully appreciate the risks'".
The October 30 BBC News reported that hundreds had attended an anti-war march in Pollok, Glasgow. Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in June, addressed the march. Gentle attacked Scottish Labour Prime Minister Jack McConnell for refusing an invitation to attend the rally to explain his support for the illegal occupation. Reg Keys, whose 20-year-old son Thomas was killed in Iraq last year, also addressed the march.
In a press release issued on October 29, Scottish Socialist Party parliamentarian Tommy Sheridan said: "Jack McConnell has proved today that his courage is of the Tony Blair variety. He is willing to fight to the last drop of everyone else's blood but he is not willing to come to Pollok to justify his support for the illegal occupation of Iraq. Why is it that the kids of the working class must be slaughtered for the bravery of politicians?"
From Green Left Weekly, November 17, 2004.
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