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Britain
Over 1,000 British soldiers have deserted since Iraq war began
2006-05-29
More than 1,000 members of the British armed forces have deserted since that start of the war in Iraq three years ago, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sunday. The BBC did not say how it arrived at the figure. Earlier this week, Labour Party lawmaker John McDonnell told the House of Commons that the level of desertion had tripled since 2003. However, the Ministry of Defence said the army knew of only "a handful" of deserters since 1989, and said there had been no significant increase in the number of soldiers going absent without leave.
Posted by:Fred

#10  A long time ago, in a galaxy very much like this one, I used to read the BBC news on the web every day. That stopped about the time the war on terror began to kick into gear.

Praise be to Allan (may his statistics be valid) for Rantburg! And Fred, too!
Posted by: SteveS   2006-05-29 20:41  

#9  The BBC is counting those AWOL. Typical leftist bullshit. The hard left tried the same smear last year in the US. 2000 US personnel go AWOL every year, but very few desert. "The Ministry of Defence said the army knew of only "a handful" of deserters since 1989" is accurate.
Posted by: ed   2006-05-29 14:57  

#8  Bullsh*t.

Her Majesty's Armed Forces are as motivated and dedicated as OURS - in some cases, more so. In a give year, the number of deserters in the USAF alone can be counted on the fingers and toes of both hands - I sincerely doubt that the number in the British Army is much greater than that.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-05-29 14:35  

#7  Yes, blogs and the internet in general is IMHO a sniper rifle, while the msm are massed artillery. The first can do things the later cannot dream of, but, at the end of the day, its shock value cannot be overcame.
And I'm talking about the english-language (conservative) blogosphere, which has been a real eyes-opener for me... the french internet/msm is even more unbalanced.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2006-05-29 14:23  

#6  The BBC, like the MSM, haven't learned that they cannot float these turds by the blogosphere and get away with it.

They don't care about the blogosphere, if they can influence enough readers and listeners otherwise. And it seems to work for them, unfortunately.
Posted by: lotp   2006-05-29 14:01  

#5  Makes for a better headline than 25,000 desrt mothers, family to become paid killers.
Posted by: 6   2006-05-29 13:59  

#4  OH come on guys you are knocking them down too quick. At least let them rant for a solid week and then dissect them. The BBC, like the MSM, haven't learned that they cannot float these turds by the blogosphere and get away with it.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2006-05-29 13:01  

#3  BBC haven't quite grasped yet, that the standards of reporting they've developed covering "Palestine" do not apply in the current situation.
Posted by: gromgoru   2006-05-29 07:38  

#2  Biased BBC is on to them. So is USS Neverdock.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2006-05-29 00:51  

#1  *snort*
*giggle*

They just can't quit trying the same old template, regardless. After this "mass desertion" thing failed spectacularly in the U.S., they are now trying it out on the brits?

Come on, trying the same thing while expecting different results is a sign of either willful stupidity or insanity. Kind of like John Kerry.
Posted by: N guard   2006-05-29 00:27  

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