Lt. Col.
Tim "Nails" Collins, 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment after
addressing his troops |
"Our business now is north."Speech given by Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins to the men
of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, 20 March 2003, Kuwait, near
the Iraqi border.
"We go to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our
flags in their country. We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag
which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.
There are some who are alive at this moment who will not
be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send.
As for the others I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is
what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous
in victory.
Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden
of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there.
You will see things that no man could pay to see and you will have to go a long
way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. You will
be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing. Don't treat
them as refugees for they are in their own country. Their children will be poor,
in years to come they will know that the light of liberation in their lives was
brought by you.
If there are casualties of war then
remember that when they woke up and got dressed in the morning they did
not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in death. Bury them properly
and mark their graves. It is my foremost intention to bring every single one of you out
alive but there may be people among us who will not see the end of this
campaign. We will put them in their sleeping bags and send them back.
There will be no time for sorrow.
The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that
we are bringing about his rightful destruction. There are many regional
commanders who have stains on their souls and they are stoking the fires
of hell for Saddam. He and his forces will be destroyed by this coalition
for what they have done. As they die they will know their deeds have
brought them to this place. Show them no pity.
It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to
be done lightly. I know of men who have taken life needlessly in other
conflicts, I can assure you they live with the mark of Cain upon them. If
someone surrenders to you then remember they have that right in international
law and ensure that one day they go home to their family.
The ones who wish to fight, well, we aim to please.
If you harm the regiment or its history by over-enthusiasm
in killing or in cowardice, know it is your family who will suffer. You will be
shunned unless your conduct is of the highest for your deeds will follow you
down through history. We will bring shame on neither our uniform or our nation.
It is not a question of if, it's a question of when. We
know he has already devolved the decision to lower commanders, and that means he
has already taken the decision himself. If we survive the first strike we will
survive the attack.
As for ourselves, let's bring everyone home and leave Iraq
a better place for us having been there. Our business now is north."
|