The commander of a British army base in Iraq has refused to accept responsibility for the operation he ordered to prevent looting at a humanitarian aid camp which resulted in the abuse of detainees.
Maj Dan Taylor yesterday said he ordered soldiers to deter but not mistreat looters as documented in 22 photographs released earlier this week.
He told a court-martial in Osnabruck, Germany, that he was so frustrated by the theft of supplies he fired warning shots in the air to deter looters, dubbed "the Ali Babas". "There did not appear to be any other way we could prevent that looting, short of doing what the locals wanted us to do, which was shoot people," he said.
In May 2003 he ordered British soldiers to round up looters around the camp, known as Camp Bread Basket, outside the southern Iraqi city of Basra, and "work them hard". Prosecuting counsel has described this order as "unauthorised" and a breach of the Geneva Convention.
Maj Taylor was given a dressing down by in a letter from Brig Nick Carter, his commanding officer, on January 7th. The letter, read out in court, said: "The conduct authorised by you involved humane, manual work which, albeit not lawful, was not to be undertaken in an inhumane manner."
The three men facing a court-martial and possible jail terms are all from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers: Cpl Daniel Kenyon (33) and Lance Cpls Mark Cooley (25) and Darren Larkin (30). They deny all but one charge.
The investigation began after 22 photographs emerged showing the soldiers pretending to punch and kick detainees at the camp; others show Iraqi prisoners forced to simulate sex acts while another shows a man bound to the loading blades of a forklift.
The photographs were taken during "Operation Ali Baba", devised by Maj Taylor, he said, to deter looters who descended on the aid warehouse at first light.
He organised a group of 40 to 50 soldiers, armed with 3-ft poles, and said they were to carry out "a properly organised military activity". Maj Taylor added: "I said we would apprehend the looters, gather them in, and I was going to talk to them. They would then be given work to do."
The soldiers apprehended a group of looters taking baby food and brought them back to Maj Taylor. "I told them when they were back in the camp that they were stealing food from the Iraqi people," he said. He agreed to the suggestion to take pictures to have evidence to show the Iraqi police and to enable identification if they were caught again.
The court martial resumes on Monday.