MATT BROWN: The British Army has taken control of Muthanna province in Iraq's south with just 600 men.
SOLDIER: With a magazine of 30 rounds, load. Safety catch, check the top two rounds, press the magazine housing in, shake it, make sure its secure, walk away.
MATT BROWN: 450 Australians will soon join the British in what's been dubbed "the province of peace". But clearly, there are still dangers to be reckoned with. The Australians will be helping the British secure a province that's mostly desolate and unforgiving.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON, TASK FORCE EAGLE COMMANDER, BRITISH ARMY: So an enhancement
of Australians will improve our capability quite considerably.
MATT BROWN: In the north, near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, lies Samawah city, the provincial centre of Al-Muthanna province. A Dutch soldier was killed here last year when his convoy was attacked.
LT. RORY FERGUSON, TROOP LEADER, BRITISH ARMY: As it was crossing the bridge a motorcyclist beneath, on the road that runs underneath, threw a grenade up. Unfortunately, one of the sergeants, whose name I think was Sesbah, was killed in that incident.
MATT BROWN: Australia is sending 40 light-armoured vehicles to Al-Muthanna to match the 40 the British have brought in. But the protection they offer can be a double-edged sword.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: Because it is more benign here, it's more benign than a lot of the other provinces, and I think that if you were to operate with armoured vehicles on a daily basis, it would be potentially fairly inflammatory.
MATT BROWN: While the Australian contingent will provide an important boost, the bottom line is their presence is designed to improve security in the province, and it's not absolutely crucial to maintaining it.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: Well, I mean, ostensibly we are going to be handling it ourselves. I mean I've just taken over from the Dutch and we are, certainly for the next couple of months, until such time as the Australians come on board, we are going to be, sort of, handling it ourselves.
MATT BROWN: Could you sustain that, though?
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: I think it would be possible to sustain, but it would be very difficult to sustain, because the Dutch have moved from a force of about 1,300 and we're suddenly moving down to about 600 or so. Which makes it easy enough to sustain, but it doesn't necessarily make it easy to actually sort of really move the whole thing forward.
MATT BROWN: Dutch troops have used six of their own well-armed Apache helicopters to deter attacks and conduct surveillance, where and when they need it.
LT-COL. FRITZ VAN DOOREN, COMMANDER, NETHERLANDS BATTLE GROUP: They can be present all over the province quite fast, and all the people on the ground, also the civilians, know what the Apache can, and they are quite scared about them. If you can rely on your own assets, such as air support by Apache helicopters, it's quite useful.
MATT BROWN: But British and Australian troops will have to rely on other coalition allies for this kind of help -- help the British Commander says can be delivered fairly quickly.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: I can guarantee that
the process, we would go through the process to try to make sure that we can have that. You can never absolutely guarantee anything in terms of military support.
MATT BROWN: Because the Dutch have had Apache attack helicopters; Australians don't.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: Dutch have Apache. No, and we haven't got Apache either, but what we have got is we have air power here, which we can call on via the Americans and the like.
MATT BROWN: In the past four months alone, the Apaches flew 54 missions carrying the Dutch Quick Response Force and 300 missions just to make a show of force in the air. But the Apaches are not a cure-all. Earlier last year, another Dutch soldier lost his life in an ambush -- this time in the town of Orumitha.
LT-COL. FRITZ VAN DOOREN: There was an ambush by, I think, 40 to 50 people and it happened during the night. There you are having an ambush in the city, it's quite difficult to rely on your Apache helicopters because air support in urban warfare is quite difficult.
MATT BROWN: In just the past four months, in the so-called province of peace, the Dutch encountered 10 incidents of small-arms fire, four explosions, six hand grenades, three mortar or rocket attacks, six home-made bombs and one car bomb. And Dutch troops seized more than 200 anti-personnel mines, more than 2,000 rockets, and more than 450 mortars.
Many of the people in Muthanna province are desperately poor. The stench from the slums of Samawah city can be smelt kilometres away. The sewers are open, the front yards consist of mud and pools of putrid water. Indeed, the call for soldiers to provide a better life is a constant refrain.
MAN 1 (Translation): Australian troops must keep control of security in Samawah. They must also fix our electricity and water.
MAN 2 (Translation): We need the troops to give us jobs then security will improve.
MATT BROWN: A Japanese force has been sent to the province to try and rebuild it, but they have no hope of meeting these basic demands. Australian troops will soon be providing security in the general vicinity of the Japanese force. But the Japanese do have the ability to defend themselves, and their commander says, based on purely military considerations, he'd be prepared to stay in Muthanna without the assistance of others.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA, JAPAN RECONSTRUCTION GROUP: I don't pull your army forces to Muthanna province. I think each government will decide. If the Japanese government say, "You should go to Iraq to rehabilitate the Iraqi people", any time we say "Yes, sir".
MATT BROWN: Even if there is no British and Australian overarching security?
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: Yes, I think so.
MATT BROWN: The Japanese are, however, prevented by law from attacking another force and their rules of engagement mean they have to act more like police than soldiers.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: That's why we need close coordination and close cooperation with Australian Army forces.
MATT BROWN: And the Japanese camp itself has been attacked.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: Mortar attack and rocket attack -
MATT BROWN: Mortar and rocket?
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: Mortar and rocket, but fortunately no casualties.
MATT BROWN: The mortar fell outside the camp perimeter, but the rocket attack on this force, the force Australian soldiers are being sent to protect, occurred less than eight weeks ago.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: The latest attack in January this year, that is rocket attack.
MATT BROWN: The rocket landed inside the Japanese camp, but did not explode. The ultimate goal of the Australian mission is to hand over responsibility for security in Muthanna province to Iraqi forces, and the Australian military wants to do that within a year.
MATT BROWN: Would they be ready within a year to work without the assistance you're offering them now?
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: It's very difficult to put an absolute timeline on it. I mean, of course, the next sort of critical juncture is the next set of elections at the end of December. And I suspect at that stage, there may well be a time to make the decision as to just how much longer a multi-national force will remain.
MATT BROWN: A year from now, Australian troops will be well-known faces in al-Muthanna and, based on recent events, they'll have also experienced some direct danger.
Matt Brown
SOLDIER: With a magazine of 30 rounds, load. Safety catch, check the top two rounds, press the magazine housing in, shake it, make sure its secure, walk away.
MATT BROWN: 450 Australians will soon join the British in what's been dubbed "the province of peace". But clearly, there are still dangers to be reckoned with. The Australians will be helping the British secure a province that's mostly desolate and unforgiving.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON, TASK FORCE EAGLE COMMANDER, BRITISH ARMY: So an enhancement
of Australians will improve our capability quite considerably.
MATT BROWN: In the north, near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, lies Samawah city, the provincial centre of Al-Muthanna province. A Dutch soldier was killed here last year when his convoy was attacked.
LT. RORY FERGUSON, TROOP LEADER, BRITISH ARMY: As it was crossing the bridge a motorcyclist beneath, on the road that runs underneath, threw a grenade up. Unfortunately, one of the sergeants, whose name I think was Sesbah, was killed in that incident.
MATT BROWN: Australia is sending 40 light-armoured vehicles to Al-Muthanna to match the 40 the British have brought in. But the protection they offer can be a double-edged sword.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: Because it is more benign here, it's more benign than a lot of the other provinces, and I think that if you were to operate with armoured vehicles on a daily basis, it would be potentially fairly inflammatory.
MATT BROWN: While the Australian contingent will provide an important boost, the bottom line is their presence is designed to improve security in the province, and it's not absolutely crucial to maintaining it.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: Well, I mean, ostensibly we are going to be handling it ourselves. I mean I've just taken over from the Dutch and we are, certainly for the next couple of months, until such time as the Australians come on board, we are going to be, sort of, handling it ourselves.
MATT BROWN: Could you sustain that, though?
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: I think it would be possible to sustain, but it would be very difficult to sustain, because the Dutch have moved from a force of about 1,300 and we're suddenly moving down to about 600 or so. Which makes it easy enough to sustain, but it doesn't necessarily make it easy to actually sort of really move the whole thing forward.
MATT BROWN: Dutch troops have used six of their own well-armed Apache helicopters to deter attacks and conduct surveillance, where and when they need it.
LT-COL. FRITZ VAN DOOREN, COMMANDER, NETHERLANDS BATTLE GROUP: They can be present all over the province quite fast, and all the people on the ground, also the civilians, know what the Apache can, and they are quite scared about them. If you can rely on your own assets, such as air support by Apache helicopters, it's quite useful.
MATT BROWN: But British and Australian troops will have to rely on other coalition allies for this kind of help -- help the British Commander says can be delivered fairly quickly.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: I can guarantee that
the process, we would go through the process to try to make sure that we can have that. You can never absolutely guarantee anything in terms of military support.
MATT BROWN: Because the Dutch have had Apache attack helicopters; Australians don't.
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: Dutch have Apache. No, and we haven't got Apache either, but what we have got is we have air power here, which we can call on via the Americans and the like.
MATT BROWN: In the past four months alone, the Apaches flew 54 missions carrying the Dutch Quick Response Force and 300 missions just to make a show of force in the air. But the Apaches are not a cure-all. Earlier last year, another Dutch soldier lost his life in an ambush -- this time in the town of Orumitha.
LT-COL. FRITZ VAN DOOREN: There was an ambush by, I think, 40 to 50 people and it happened during the night. There you are having an ambush in the city, it's quite difficult to rely on your Apache helicopters because air support in urban warfare is quite difficult.
MATT BROWN: In just the past four months, in the so-called province of peace, the Dutch encountered 10 incidents of small-arms fire, four explosions, six hand grenades, three mortar or rocket attacks, six home-made bombs and one car bomb. And Dutch troops seized more than 200 anti-personnel mines, more than 2,000 rockets, and more than 450 mortars.
Many of the people in Muthanna province are desperately poor. The stench from the slums of Samawah city can be smelt kilometres away. The sewers are open, the front yards consist of mud and pools of putrid water. Indeed, the call for soldiers to provide a better life is a constant refrain.
MAN 1 (Translation): Australian troops must keep control of security in Samawah. They must also fix our electricity and water.
MAN 2 (Translation): We need the troops to give us jobs then security will improve.
MATT BROWN: A Japanese force has been sent to the province to try and rebuild it, but they have no hope of meeting these basic demands. Australian troops will soon be providing security in the general vicinity of the Japanese force. But the Japanese do have the ability to defend themselves, and their commander says, based on purely military considerations, he'd be prepared to stay in Muthanna without the assistance of others.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA, JAPAN RECONSTRUCTION GROUP: I don't pull your army forces to Muthanna province. I think each government will decide. If the Japanese government say, "You should go to Iraq to rehabilitate the Iraqi people", any time we say "Yes, sir".
MATT BROWN: Even if there is no British and Australian overarching security?
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: Yes, I think so.
MATT BROWN: The Japanese are, however, prevented by law from attacking another force and their rules of engagement mean they have to act more like police than soldiers.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: That's why we need close coordination and close cooperation with Australian Army forces.
MATT BROWN: And the Japanese camp itself has been attacked.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: Mortar attack and rocket attack -
MATT BROWN: Mortar and rocket?
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: Mortar and rocket, but fortunately no casualties.
MATT BROWN: The mortar fell outside the camp perimeter, but the rocket attack on this force, the force Australian soldiers are being sent to protect, occurred less than eight weeks ago.
COL. KIYOHIKO OTA: The latest attack in January this year, that is rocket attack.
MATT BROWN: The rocket landed inside the Japanese camp, but did not explode. The ultimate goal of the Australian mission is to hand over responsibility for security in Muthanna province to Iraqi forces, and the Australian military wants to do that within a year.
MATT BROWN: Would they be ready within a year to work without the assistance you're offering them now?
LT-COL. TIM WILSON: It's very difficult to put an absolute timeline on it. I mean, of course, the next sort of critical juncture is the next set of elections at the end of December. And I suspect at that stage, there may well be a time to make the decision as to just how much longer a multi-national force will remain.
MATT BROWN: A year from now, Australian troops will be well-known faces in al-Muthanna and, based on recent events, they'll have also experienced some direct danger.
Matt Brown