bi John F. McDonnell
A teim made up o sax SAS sodgers, the regiment at haes the motto ‘Who Dares Wins’, an twa unidentified British offeicials, haes left Libya efter thair embarrassin arrest an detencioun in Libya bi the rebel forces at controls the eister hauf o the kintra. The elite o the British airmie wis taen doun a hack bi a paircel o Libyan ferm chiels at interceptit the British helicopter efter hit laundit.
Tho the British claimed tae be on a diplomatic meissioun, thae cam in on a helicopter gun-ship airmed til the teith at laundit wi nae wairnin in the wee smaa hours in the mids o a field eist o Benghazi. Bi the wey o local reports, nae ettil haed been made bi the British fur tae contac the rebel authorities at controls the regioun nor tae speik a wurd tae thaim anent the income o the British sodgies. Whan the British wis arrestit hit wis funn at thae wer cairriein ammunicioun, maps an passports frae fower different kintras.
Yistreen, Monday, thae wer on thair wey hame til the UK via Malta. The British government haes na-sayed at the arrestit men wis warkin fur the intelligence services.
The lowsin o the British ‘diplomatic teim’ wis ainerlie siccart efter Richard Northern, the British ambassadour in Libya, made a fleitchin phone caa til the opposicioun leiders. Mr Northern descreived the seitiacioun as a “misunderstanding”, an pewthert the Libyan opposicioun fur the lowsin o the men. He admittit the British haed “made a big mistake coming in with a helicopter”. Tae mak an ill seitiacioun een waur, the Gaddafi government interceptit the caa an gied copies o hit til the BBC an 130 memmers o the furren press in Tripoli.
The Furren Secretarie, William Hague, wis gart tae gie a hingin luggit explanacioun til the Hous o Commons at Westminster. “Last week I authorized the dispatch of a small British diplomatic team to eastern Libya, in uncertain circumstances which we judged required their protection, to build on these initial contacts [wi the Interim Naciounal Counsel in Benghazi] and to assess the scope for closer diplomatic dialogue,” Mr. Hague sayed. “They were withdrawn yesterday after a serious misunderstanding about their role, leading to their temporary detention.”
Mr Hague insistit the securitie measures wis “not unusual” an stressed at in the hinnerenn the diplomats wis luit tae speik wi a Libyan opposicioun leider afore hame-comin til the UK. The inceident is juist the latest in a series o pleins relatit til the British governments haunlin o the Libyan crysis. The government wis creiticysed an aa fur hits slaa an tapsalteirie wauchles tae evacuate British ceitizens trappit in Libya efter the fechtin stertit. The public exposure an wandocht weird o a tap-secret operacioun wull be a dirl til the prestige o meinisters an securitie offeicials.
The British operacioun wis shirrackit an cryed ‘a farce’ bi a guid monie commentatours an opposicioun politicians. In exchynges in the Hous o Commons yestreen, Labours Shaiddae Furren Secretarie Douglas Alexander sayed, “The British public are entitled to wonder whether, if some new neighbours moved into the Foreign Secretary’s street, he would introduce himself by ringing the doorbell or instead choose to climb over the fence in the middle of the night.”
Menzies Campbell, the former Lib Dem leider sayed, “This mission was ill-conceived, poorly planned and embarrassingly executed.”
In whit monie sees as a sign o the blame game in Westminster an a bid tae dounpley his ain role in the affair, Mr Hague claimed he haed actit on “military advice” an haed left the “details to the professionals”.
Wurds ye mibbie no ken
tak doun a hack – humiliate
fleitch – to plead with
plewther – to beg in an ingratiating manner
hingin luggit – shamefaced
shirrack – decry, denounce, usually loudly and in public
Shaiddae Furren Secretarie – Shadow Foreign Secretary (Not ‘shady’, but some might think that would work as well.)
luit – allowed, past tense of lat.
plein – complaint
wandocht – contemptible, ignominious
weird – fate
dirl – resounding blow, heavy strike
tapsalteirie – chaotic, confused
wauchle – laborious effort, struggle
[There was an error in the attribution of this piece. The writer’s name is John F. McDonnell, not John P. Apologies for the mistake, it has been corrected. Newsnet Sub-editor Tues. 8 March 2011, 6.55pm]