BRAVO COMPANY's DEADLY MISSION

Last night Channel Four's Dispatches lived up to its name with Bravo's Company's Deadly Mission - 90 minutes combat with 40 US Marines deployed to 'take' a Taliban 'stronghold' - in other words, a town, in Helmand province. There's much that could be said about the skill and bravery of those who made this programme, but my main point is that with lethal ordinariness, and understatement, they showed that the war on terror in Afghanistan is unwinnable if you assume that this war is a 'war' like other wars and that this place is a place like other places. Take those assumptions away and everything melts in your fingers - or maybe down your trousers.



This is the narrative. First they land, armed and ready. It's the middle of the night, but Bravo Company can't move because the area is has IEDs - or land mines. When dawn breaks they start to move, but gingerly, and out in the open. Everyone knows they're there.



Then they take a position just outside the town. They survey the flat plain. They cant atttack or move-in on anything because they are not allowed to be hostile unless someone someone is hostile to them. So they sit and wait to be fired at while the Taliban surround the area. The marines know this is happening but can do jack shit about it.



Then they come under fire: heavy fire in bursts which shocks your system, and sniper fire which zings past your ears at all times but usually when you are least expecting it. This, more or less, is the situation for the rest of the week. They move from isolated building to building, in open country, tryiing to get comfortable, trying to see Taliban, trying to avoid casualties, trying not to kill any civilians, trying not to kill each other, trying to persuade the Air Force to strike at blocks that they think might hold Taliban but might just hold an Afghan family instead. To a high tech fighter bomber from the air and a block on the horizon from the ground, what's the difference anyway? The Afgan units with them, by the way, are not keen. Every American is shouting most of the time but the ANA has to be shouted at to go forward, or back, or sideways through a door. Yet as far as the world media are concerned, Bravo Company's deadly mission is part of an Afghan National army led offensive.



So there they sit and there they tire. Very edgy. Very tired. Their Captain started the programme telling Dispatches that US Marines were your worst enemy - a nightmare of controlled violence. Well, that was then. Most of them just now would settle for a Starbucks in small town Missouri. So they decide to spread out into the town but then, all of a sudden, it's over. The Taliban have left them to it. At this point, they decare the town 'taken'. It's on Sky and CNN. It's a victory to the generals but not, it has to be said, to Bravo Company. Who know it's been hopeless. Finally the Captain spends $half a million on the town renovating the bazaar. Local labour builds them a park. They call it Victory Park. Locals just want them to go. They say they're not helping. They say the Americans think they're helping, but they're not helping. Why don't they just go?



Next month Bravo company do leave for home. They have taken 20% casualties - mainly from snipers. The empty buildings are empty again. This is a dispatch for that intelligent guy in The White House.

Robert de Niro in The Planning Officer

I NEVER thought I'd be writing in celebration of a city council planning enforcement officer but I've just read the NEW HISTORY LAB blog on the planning history of the Plaza Fish Bar and feel like cheering this man's courage, care, and sheer bloody minded tenacity. All that trouble to save the look of a fish and chip shop? Now that really takes some spirit. What did he think he was doing? Didn't his colleagues laugh? Did he get chips thrown through his front room window? How did he live with himself in the small hours when he felt nobody was with him and everyone was against him?? Did he have to receive calls from the National Association of Greasy Spoons? What about the commercial lobbying of the aluminium and formica manufacturers? What did his wife think? How, in other words, did he keep his nerve?

Well he did and I for one am proud of him. We all now have a Plaza Fish Bar to queue for. I might even desert The Mighty Grimsby next time and get in line by the graceful curved window and the moon green tiles of a nice bit of urban sole. NEW HISTORY LAB takes you plaices you've never bream.

Nice blog Tom! When are they doing the movie?

Bringing history into the present:

Technology consumers are often categorised based upon how quickly they will adopt a new piece of technology. Early adopters are often coveted and praised by manufacturers and retailers. These early consumers take the risks and costs associated with new technology to experience firsthand the new product or service. Early adoption is not a concept often associated with historical study. Perceptions of the historian as someone tied to their dusty tomes and archives persist. However, there are many new ways that new technology can benefit the historian and in this post I want to look at some of them.

These can be found after the jump (click the pink title above for the full article)

Leicester’s Hidden Historical Stories - #1 in an occasional series

If you were to take a tour around the sights of Leicester, it is unlikely that the Plaza Fish Bar, on London Road, would be high on any urban explorers list. Occasional passers-by might note the charming bright green tiles amid the pungent aroma of breaded chicken and chips, but probably not give it a second thought as they amble into the more familiar city-centre. But this greasy takeaway, late-night favourite of students, was recently the site of an epic struggle between David and Goliath - when history met politics, capitalism ignored regulation, and fish and chips took on the might of Leicester City Council. Only this time, David didn’t win.

Taken by author

Back in 2003, the purveyors of fine fried food unceremoniously ripped off the Edwardian Art Nouveau frontage and replaced it with ‘a bright red aluminium shop front’. Little did they know, or perhaps care, that they were unfortunately situated in South Highfields Conservation Area, and that if ‘work is done without planning permission that harms the character of the area, it is highly likely that the City Council will take action requiring the work to be removed and replaced with a more appropriate alternative.’ When the owners failed to comply with the swift enforcement notice, they were marched to court.

With a slap on the wrist and the possibility of redemption with the help of the Council, locally made glazed blocks were sourced, and the shop front was restored to its former glory. It may not have been Gordon Brown versus the banks, but events like this are still important, and all around us. It is not just the grand reminders of different ages and ideas that are protected by law, but the everyday street-features that give a less obvious glimpse into the local past. Leicester City Council planning enforcement officer, Geoffrey Sayce, celebrated in the triumph, and warned other usurpers of the historical fabric:

"We would encourage anybody considering making property alterations to first consult with the City Council… the reinstatement reminds us architecturally of a bygone era, a piece of old Leicester and our heritage, which should not be forgotten and should not end up in a skip."

When asked on one late post-pub Friday night, the staff declined to tell me how much such heritage cost. But the sheepish look on their faces told a telling story - it’s not always that easy to mess with history and still get away with a full pocket of cash.

Source: http://news.leicester.gov.uk/newsArchiveDetail.aspx?Id=89 and http://www.leicester.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=13306&type=full&servicetype=Attachment

HELP! I Need Somebody - 8/10/10

Are you just starting your MA? Just getting use to Leicester? Worried about the APG upgrade at the end of your first year as a PhD student? How do you actually write 100,000 words so it is coherent and readable? What will I do after my PhD?

If you answered yes to any of the above then our first session 'HELP: I Need Somebody' is for you. They have either recently been there and done it or are still actively working on it.

Tessa Holubowicz tells you how to survive your MA.
Robby Van Eetvelde from Loughborough University provides an international perspective as well as the expertise of another British University to complement our own department.
Alun Wyburn-Powell gives professional tips on how to complete your research, writing the dissertation and the dreaded VIVA and on his experience on getting into the acedemic game as he teaches undergraduates at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University.
Emma Kimberley gives us her tips on finishing a PhD and then successfully moving into the world of work and starting a career.

They are here to tell you about their experiences, good and bad, and are happy to answer your questions. This is a great opportunity to get at successful students who are genuinely happy to help.

Tea and Cake is served from 4.30
The History begins at 5.00
Pub at 6.

See you all at 1 Salisbury Road on Friday.