Examination of Witnesses (Questions 700-703)
MAJOR GENERAL
ROBIN BRIMS
CBE AND BRIGADIER
SHAUN COWLAM
MBE
25 JUNE 2003
Q700 Mr Jones: So,
I will try again. In terms of what you have seen since, I accept
the point you are making about how pictures, etc., are reported
when they get back to London, and the editing suites, etc., but,
post-conflict, in terms of the descriptions and media reporting
of the operation which you were commanding, how do you think that
is actually being portrayed; accurately? You are on safe territory
here. Air Marshal Burridge was very forthright in his views.
Major General Brims:
I would have said, it is very difficult, looking at it second-hand,
I did not see it at the time, very inaccurately.
Q701 Mr Jones: In
what way, the analysis of pictures?
Major General Brims:
The analysis. What I am told, by casual conversation, there are
all sorts of things that just do not fit together.
Q702 Mr Jones: In
what way?
Major General Brims:
Because that was not the picture that I was looking at.
Q703 Mr Jones: Right;
so it is the interpretation?
Major General Brims:
It is the interpretation; it is not the report, it is the interpretation.
But I do not know.
Brigadier Cowlam:
The problem we have got is, we have no knowledge of how it was
portrayed. I was surprised, as the General was, when we came back,
how big an issue the whole thing was and how it dominated all
your headlines and agendas for such a long period. We were very
much inward-looking and not fully appreciative of what was going
on, in reporting terms, around us.
Chairman: I think
you were lucky, actually, we had to sit through it, and we saw
the endless newspapers and television companies who had their
own agenda, in which every single incident was either not reported,
if it did not fit in with their framework, or it was misreported,
and I found it quite difficult to read. So that was one advantage
of being out of their influence. Others were very reputable, were
very honest, were very fair, and they were the newspapers that
one would read. General and Brigadier, thank you very much. I
know, from the questioning, one might think actually you lost
the war, because we did focus, as always, more on the negative
side and almost took the positive side for granted. But one must
say that the British performed as admirably as they have always
done, and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude, and we would
like to express that through you, gentlemen, because we do owe
them so much. And we deeply, deeply regret those families who
have been bereaved, and that disaster yesterday means the war
might have entered a new phase, it may not be called `war' but
it does not look quite like that to the families today. So thank
you very much, and we will meet again, I am sure. Thank you.
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