‘Tough guy’ taking on Irish guerrillas

Press, 29 November 1977, Page 21

‘Tough guy’ taking on Irish guerrillas

The appointment of Major General Tim Creasey as Ulster’s military’ commander means the province is now governed by a man whose reputation for toughness is at least equal to that of the Northern Ireland Secretary, Roy Mason. Creasey, aged 54, has a long record in colonial warfare, much of it fighting guerrillas. His life has been dedicated to infantry soldiering since he joined the Indian Army in the Second World War. He was briefly involved in fighting the I.R.A. during their cross-border campaign in 1956; was a brigade major during the Kenya campaign against the Mau Mau; commanded a battalion in the Aden war; and, as commander-in-chief of the forces in Oman during 1972-75, was mainly responsible for the defeat of the Dhofar nationalists. His reputation within the British Army, however, rests as much upon the uncompromising zeal with which he roots out inefficiency on his own side. In 1963, as second in command of an infantry battalion serving in Guyana, he made it clear that he found his own commanding officer wanting. Creasy’s view matched that of more senior officers, and the commander in question was removed on orders from London. One of those concerned in that episode told me: “There comes a time when one has to serve under someone who is not up to his job. One has to be prepared to go to higher authority and say, “This is not right.’ It is a horrible thing to have to do. Tim Creasey is a strong character and a man of great conviction.” Other commanders, ranging from captain to colo-

nel, have been removed since, either on the general’s orders or with his subsequent approval. Creasey’s impression on his own headquarters — where some officers nicknamed him “The Bull” because of his formidable size and courage — was equally forceful. An officer who served in Oman described how he saw three British colleagues fleeing from a building which housed the commander, rather than answer the continual ringing of a bell controlled from his room. In the event, the bell did not toll for anyone’s career: it was a short-circuit. Just what impact Creasey will have on Ulster — or the province on him — is hard to guess. His closest friends say his combination of puritanism and bluffness conceal a political subtlety that was the key factor in winning the Oman war. Creasey’s forces there included al! three Omani armed services, as well as troops from Jordon, Iran and Britain. Every major operation involved skilful co-ordination among the foreign governments involved. What is certain is that the Oman campaign gave the general a freedom to isolate and attack his enemy in a way which would be unacceptable in the United Kingdom. Areas of countryside were controlled by the army and air force using electronic ground sensors and aerial bombardment to cut enemy supplies along lines developed by the United States in Vietnam. Equally effective was the recruitment of enemy guerrillas — "surrendered enemy personnel” — through financial and other in‘ducements, including an amnesty.

In Ulster, as Roy Mason emnhasised recently, there will be no amnesties. Ulster’s war is also being fought electronically, but in a way which keeps the army as invisible as possible. Urban military intelligence, tracking thousands of vehicles and individuals with the aid of computers and data analysis, has not so far been Creasey’s kind of ■war.

One British battalion commander told me that in the area he controlled only 70 known I.R.A. activists remained out of a population of thousands, “but that 70 could grow to 700 if we made blunders which alienated the civil population.” General Creasey’s friends, who say he is a good golfer and keen shot, are counselling patience on his part For a soldier who likes to get results — and get them quickly — it will be a new art of warfare to master. — Tony Geraghty, “Sunday Times,” London.