Difference between revisions of "Tim Collins (Ex-army)"
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| − | Colonel (retd) Tim Collins OBE (born Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 1960) is a former officer in the [[British Army]]. He gained prominence around the time of the the Iraq War following an eve-of-battle speech which the media declared 'inspirational'. | + | Colonel (retd) Tim Collins OBE (born Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 1960) is a former officer in the [[British Army]]. He gained prominence around the time of the the Iraq War following an eve-of-battle speech which the media declared 'inspirational'. The speech received much praise -- not least from Tim Collins himself -- and a copy of reportedly hangs in the White House's Oval Office.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3608181.stm Iraq war colonel awarded OBE], ''BBC News'', 7 April 2004</ref> The speech's theme of liberation vs. conquest, and its oft quoted line ('If you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory'), however, appear to be borrowed from a speech by Comte de Bourmont who on the eve of the colonization of Algeria in May 1830 perorated: 'merciless in combat, you must be compassionate and magnanimous after victory...the Arab will see you as liberators'.<ref>Text of de Bourmont's speech in Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilization (Harper Collins: London 2005) p.636</ref> |
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| + | By 2005 he was to make a complete about-face on his assessment of the war, calling it a "catastrophe" and a "right-rollicking cock-up".<ref>This is an extract from Wikipedia, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Collins_(British_army_officer) Tim Collins]</ref> | ||
Collins was born into a Protestant (Presbyterian} family and raised in Northern Ireland, where he grew up during the very worst of the Troubles. His secondary education was at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution - universally known as "Inst" - before he attended Queen's University of Belfast, where he read economics. His school career was notable not so much for high academic achievement as for a focussed involvement with the Inst Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingent and the school Rifle Club, which he captained at Bisley. Collins was notable for solemn determination, considerable achievement, and an impatiently sceptical attitude towards authority, a combination of traits which later brought him success as a regimental soldier and occasioned abrasive relationships with some superior officers | Collins was born into a Protestant (Presbyterian} family and raised in Northern Ireland, where he grew up during the very worst of the Troubles. His secondary education was at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution - universally known as "Inst" - before he attended Queen's University of Belfast, where he read economics. His school career was notable not so much for high academic achievement as for a focussed involvement with the Inst Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingent and the school Rifle Club, which he captained at Bisley. Collins was notable for solemn determination, considerable achievement, and an impatiently sceptical attitude towards authority, a combination of traits which later brought him success as a regimental soldier and occasioned abrasive relationships with some superior officers | ||
Revision as of 22:02, 1 February 2010
Colonel (retd) Tim Collins OBE (born Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 1960) is a former officer in the British Army. He gained prominence around the time of the the Iraq War following an eve-of-battle speech which the media declared 'inspirational'. The speech received much praise -- not least from Tim Collins himself -- and a copy of reportedly hangs in the White House's Oval Office.[1] The speech's theme of liberation vs. conquest, and its oft quoted line ('If you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory'), however, appear to be borrowed from a speech by Comte de Bourmont who on the eve of the colonization of Algeria in May 1830 perorated: 'merciless in combat, you must be compassionate and magnanimous after victory...the Arab will see you as liberators'.[2]
By 2005 he was to make a complete about-face on his assessment of the war, calling it a "catastrophe" and a "right-rollicking cock-up".[3]
Collins was born into a Protestant (Presbyterian} family and raised in Northern Ireland, where he grew up during the very worst of the Troubles. His secondary education was at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution - universally known as "Inst" - before he attended Queen's University of Belfast, where he read economics. His school career was notable not so much for high academic achievement as for a focussed involvement with the Inst Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingent and the school Rifle Club, which he captained at Bisley. Collins was notable for solemn determination, considerable achievement, and an impatiently sceptical attitude towards authority, a combination of traits which later brought him success as a regimental soldier and occasioned abrasive relationships with some superior officers
Affiliations
- Royal Irish Rangers
- RISC Management
- Henry Jackson Society - Signatory to the Statement of Principles [4]
notes
- ↑ Iraq war colonel awarded OBE, BBC News, 7 April 2004
- ↑ Text of de Bourmont's speech in Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilization (Harper Collins: London 2005) p.636
- ↑ This is an extract from Wikipedia, Tim Collins
- ↑ HJS Statement of Principles
