Rules of Engagement: A Life in Conflict

By Tim Collins

Book Overview

From the moment Tim Collins's speech to his men in Iraq was made public, he became more than an army colonel. He spoke to a world that was confused, at best, as to the motives for war, and gave some... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0755313755
• ISBN13: 9780755313754
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Headline Review
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.4" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

ASYMMETRIC WARFARE

Colonel Tim Collins first achieved fame for his address to his troops when about to go into battle in Iraq. This elicited a letter of admiration from the heir to the British throne, and I seem to recall that it was admired in the White House too. This distinguished soldier has since left the British army in disgust, and the strange tale of how that came about can be read in the later chapters of this book. Rules of Engagement divides into four sections as I read it. By page-count the bulk of the book consists of episodes from the Iraq war in which he was directly engaged. The final chapter reproduces the gist of an address that he was invited to make at University College Dublin, and gives us his reflections on the proper way such an operation as Iraq needs to be handled. However when he went to Iraq in his early 40's Collins was already a battle-hardened veteran, from Sierra Leone, from his native Ulster and even from commanding an emergency fire brigade in the Midlands when the fire service itself was on strike. What comes over vividly from these early tours of duty is just how clearheaded a commanding officer needs to be. Brilliant strategies in the manner of Patton v Rommel are one thing, but when the CO is dealing with opponents who are drunk, or high on drugs, or just freaked out on the sheer excitement of rioting, his own wits and not his manuals or training courses are going to provide any answers he can find. This was the experience that Collins brought to his command in Iraq, where the situation almost verged on rational by comparison. His accounts are engrossing, literate and sometimes highly amusing, at least if one enjoys, as I do, the sarky Ulster brand of humour. In one incident, seemingly very minor, he started the chain of events that led to his being subjected to one of the most despicable episodes that ever disgraced the British army. An American called Biastre, a `Major' in some kind of auxiliary unit and the Thersites of this Iliad, had picked a quarrel with Collins, emerging with his dignity somewhat impaired. By way of restoring this, Biastre submitted a report to his superiors accusing British officers in general of disrespecting Americans, and Collins in particular of nothing less than war crimes. This wretch's allegations had not the smallest semblance of probability, but the American high command solemnly passed them on to its British counterpart and Collins was required to submit to an enquiry. Someone was out to get him, someone apparently senior who briefed the media but lurked in anonymity, and I as I read the story felt, as a lifelong opponent of the death penalty, that the WW1 practice of shooting for cowardice could usefully have been reinstituted just this once. The charges were a miserable collection of attempts to make something - anything - stick. Some would have been overlooked as trivial by an infant-school teacher, the more lurid needing only a moment's scrutiny to be dismissed, which was what happened.

Powerful insight to leadership and Iraq

I too would have to start by stating my astonishment at Mr Leonard's comments below. For those of us living close enough to understand the Irish Conflict it is very irritating to see throw away (and inaccurate) comments made from a safe distance. Anyway the book.... This is a really important book on a number of levels. I have seen some of the reviews that have commented about the author's philosophy but it does help us understand his mind set and approach! The title suggests this is a full autobiography but it mainly deals with Iraq with a little bit before and a little afterwards. Collins is a natural leader and his approach to the Iraq conflict should have been a benchmark for the rest of the conflict, i.e put into place standards and controls that would allow the free Iraq people to govern themselves and allow the early withdrawal of British and US troops. Very much a thinking and intelligent leader (although he admits his mistakes) you can see how his tactics work and the resulting improvements in the areas under his control. Equally fascinating is his view and understanding of the people of Iraq. They come across and a warm but complex people and it is easy to understand how and why they have re-acted to the conflict in the way they have. There is a small section on the way a British cemetery has been immaculately maintained through the passion and loyalty of the locals that was quite moving. Of course there is much mention of both the famous speech and then later on, the allegations against Collins. It was dis-heartening to see the way that the British Army and establishment failed to support Collins and allowed his name to be smeared in the press when they should have stood by a true asset. While a biography will obviously paint a reasonably positive view of the author, I think this is a frank account and I have no doubt that the British Army needs more people like Collins. I learnt a great deal from this one and have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who is interested in either the Iraq conflict or military leadership.

A Man of Honour

Tim Collins comes across as a man of honour, integrity and ability. His book is full of insight, educated comment and some great humour. He allows the reader to be with him in some very tense and dangerous situations. He also clearly shows us that desk jockeys and management wannabes have no place in judging those who have placed themselves in harms way and alludes to the fact that without practical experience and wisdom the allies will make an almighty mess in Iraq. His personal experience of injustice is a salutory warning for us all - as personalities and politics are a constant threat to justice and reason - however there is another lesson in that life will use any means to precipitate the mid-life transition - particularly in an outstanding man of action. Tim Collins shows how the job should be done in an excellent book - we can only hope that men like him train the armies of the future.

Well written, thought provoking book

Before I add my own comment, I have to refer to the outrageous comments by Mr Leonard above. Col Collins had a great career, he would not have served 2x with the SAS and 1x with DSF and been made Col of a Regt if that were not the case. He was not removed from command, his time in command was extended, the charges never included cowardice. Finally this book is not about tactics, its a statement/record of what happened, right or wrong. Its interesting that Col Collins followed the Hearts and Minds doctrine favoured by the british, and he brought back all his men alive, this can be contrasted by the alternate approaches and their impact. On to the book, after the initial slow section on NI and Sierra Leone I found the Gulf war section well written and compelling, I read it in 24hrs as it was hard to put down. Living in the US we saw almost no visibility of UK ops so this provided great insight into the work and challenges of the UK Division. I highly recomend this book if you want to read an alternative view of how things could have been conducted in Iraq, albeit on a small scale. The final section on his return to Iraq feels like an afterthought and the section on the accusations and their resolution is disheartning but believable. Overall Col Collins comes across in a positive light for me.

Great read

Very good book that shows modern war from a different perspective, great way to see the second Iraq war from a different set of eyes.