Abbott, Dennis Alexander, Operation Telic, And The Liberation of Iraq, From the Desert Rats to the Media War, Pen & Sword, 2024
Operation Telic by Dennis Alexander Abbott is one of those books you keep on reading hoping something will happen but never does. Abbott was an English journalist who was called up for duty in 2003 for the occupation of Iraq. He served as a media officer for British forces in southern Iraq. It’s based upon his journal but unfortunately his experiences were mundane.
Abbott goes day to day through his deployment to Iraq. He was in Basra and Maysan provinces in the south. He goes through the people he met, his daily routine such as trying to find air conditioning, the journalists he handled to help them report on the war, and the stories he wrote himself. The problem is none of it is interesting. Driving to Kuwait to pick up a reporter and get supplies for instance is not something that inspires the reader to continue with the book.
What’s ironic is that while he was in Iraq attacks upon British forces were just beginning. The biggest was in June 2003 when 6 Royal Military Police and 2 Iraqi police were killed in Maysan province. They’re just blips in the narrative however as Abbot goes back to his job after each incident.
There is no real reason for anyone to read Operative Telic. Abbott’s experience working with the international media and Coalition press releases just doesn’t bring anything important to the history of the Iraq War.
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