Dialogue: SAS must guard its privacy

By SIMON MARRIOTT*

Our sympathy is invited for the plight of former Special Air Service (SAS) Corporal "Mike Coburn," who apparently was not only abandoned by his callous commanders during the 1991 Gulf War, but now also has to contend with a vindictive British Government which is intent on preventing the poor man from publishing his memoirs (Weekend Herald, September 2-3).

The operation in which Coburn was involved has been exhaustively described - indeed he is the third survivor of an eight-man patrol to produce a book based on its activities behind Iraqi lines. One might have thought that the ground had already been covered adequately but, no, it seems that the reputations of the three men who died are at stake and so "this quiet, soft-spoken and deeply principled man is preparing to take on the full might of the British Government."

I do not know Coburn, nor do I know whether his patrol was really abandoned to its fate - although I rather doubt it. I do know, however, that the time has come to rein in this stream of books written by former members of the SAS.

Stroll through any New Zealand bookshop and you will find a complete section devoted to the genre. Their pithy titles and gritty content have sold vast numbers to a public avid for revealing tales of bloody encounters in far-off lands.

No publisher worth his salt can ignore the temptation of including those ubiquitous and best-selling letters, "SAS." One of the world's most secretive regiments has suddenly become its most over-publicised.

Any single volume could perhaps be defended, but taken as a whole they provide far too much detailed information useful to a potential enemy. Secrecy is - or was - one of the greatest strengths of the SAS, giving it an important edge over its opponents.

Now, unfortunately, we know too much. We have become all too familiar with the obligatory pseudonyms, the blacked-out faces, the macho jargon and the grisly accounts of death and destruction. And this is all hurting the regiment to which these men once belonged and still claim to cherish and admire.

It is easy to criticise the action of the British Government in seeking to prevent the publication of Mr Coburn's book. Yet what else are they supposed to do? I have beside me a typical example of the post Gulf War SAS volume. We are told that it "recounts in graphic detail the Scud-busting operations deep inside Iraq" and that it is "a brilliantly authentic account of war with an SAS patrol." I do not doubt it. Yet Saddam Hussein remains in power.

Is it too far fetched to suppose that some day in the future similar operations may once again have to be mounted against Iraq or, if not Iraq, another rogue state led by another Saddam Hussein?

Mr Coburn's patrol apart, operations by British special forces during the Gulf War achieved some notable successes and have been widely praised. Yet the priceless advantage of surprise that they were able to exploit has been largely lost by the unbridled publicity that has surrounded their adventures. I cannot believe that any sensible member of today's SAS would care to have to repeat these operations; for they have been irretrievably and unnecessarily compromised.

Mr Coburn knew the rules when he signed on the dotted line. If he is bitter about his experiences, then that is his problem. It does not justify breaching the trust of his old employers.

I am sorry that his patrol came unstuck in the Iraqi desert. I am sorry too that three good men were killed in distressing circumstances.

But Mr Coburn will know better than I that war is a messy business and from time to time things can go badly wrong and people get hurt.

As it happens, almost exactly 25 years ago, I was involved in an operation to recover an SAS patrol that had also got into trouble. We were successful, although one man died and others were wounded.

Plenty of questions were asked afterwards, but no one has since burst into print to justify their part in the affray or to denounce the role played by their officers.

Former members of Britain's most elite regiment must once more learn to lick their wounds in private.

*Simon Marriott is a freelance journalist who served with the British Army for many years.