#usa #military #sas What Happened When a Navy SEAL Refused to Quit Against 100 Jihadists? Charles "Chuck" Keating IV @https://youtu.be/-aDjN1KxiOI
In 2005, two SAS soldiers were captured in Basra, beaten, and handed over to Hezbollah-linked forces. The British Prime Minister ordered restraint, but the SAS had other plans. Ignoring direct orders, an elite force stormed enemy strongholds, rescued their men, and defied their own government. When officials demanded consequences, the entire SAS threatened to resign—forcing the government to publicly back them.
00:00 - 00:23 Who Dares Wins!
00:24 - 02:03 Undercover in Basra
02:04 - 03:00 The Special Air Service Goes Rogue!
03:01 - 04:29 No Man Left Behind!
04:30 - 05:21 Rogue Hero's Aftermath
@AmericanMilitaryNetwork
In 2005, two SAS soldiers were captured in Basra, beaten, and handed over to Hezbollah-linked forces. The British Prime Minister ordered restraint, but the SAS had other plans. Ignoring direct orders, an elite force stormed enemy strongholds, rescued their men, and defied their own government. When officials demanded consequences, the entire SAS threatened to resign—forcing the government to publicly back them.
00:00 - 00:23 Who Dares Wins!
00:24 - 02:03 Undercover in Basra
02:04 - 03:00 The Special Air Service Goes Rogue!
03:01 - 04:29 No Man Left Behind!
04:30 - 05:21 Rogue Hero's Aftermath
@AmericanMilitaryNetwork
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NewsTranscript
00:00Who dares, wins.
00:02That's not just a motto.
00:03It's a way of life for the British Special Air Service.
00:06It's what separates warriors from politicians,
00:08men of action from men of words.
00:10And in 2005, when two SAS operators were captured,
00:14beaten, and paraded on Iraqi television,
00:17the SAS had a choice.
00:19Wait for politicians to negotiate their fate
00:21or take matters into their own hands.
00:23Target!
00:26It all started on September 19, 2005,
00:29when two undercover operators, known only as Griffiths and Campbell,
00:33were deep in Basra, Iraq, on an MI6-sanctioned mission.
00:37Posing as civilians, they were tracking a corrupt Iraqi police commander
00:41linked to an Iranian-backed Shia militia.
00:44The city was a powder keg.
00:46British forces had recently arrested another high-level police official
00:49and local officers, many loyal to Hezbollah, were seething.
00:52Then disaster struck.
00:54The two SAS men were stopped at a checkpoint
00:56run by the same corrupt Iraqi police they were investigating.
00:59They tried to talk their way out, but tensions were high.
01:02The officers reached for them.
01:04Bad move.
01:05The operators opened fire,
01:07wounding two of their attackers before making a break for it.
01:10A high-speed chase ripped through the city,
01:12but their undercover vehicle, a clunky civilian car,
01:15was no match for the pursuing Iraqi forces.
01:17Realizing they couldn't escape, they tried diplomacy one last time.
01:21They laid down their weapons and surrendered.
01:23The Iraqi officers swarmed them, beat them bloody,
01:26and hauled them off to Al-Jamiat police station,
01:29a well-known hub for insurgent activity and torture.
01:32Hours later, their battered faces appeared on local television,
01:35accused of being spies and murderers.
01:42Two British soldiers have been arrested by the Iraqi authorities in Basra tonight
01:45after apparently firing at police.
01:47Angry scenes erupted as crowds hurling rocks and petrol bombs
01:50attacked a British armored personnel carrier.
01:52One soldier was engulfed by flames as he escaped.
01:55The Ministry of Defense said it was trying to get access to the two servicemen,
01:58but refused to confirm reports that they were Special Forces personnel
02:01working undercover.
02:04In Baghdad, the 22nd SAS Regiment didn't waste a second.
02:08They knew their brothers were in the hands of Hezbollah-linked police,
02:11who had a reputation for handing prisoners over to Shia death squads.
02:14A rescue mission was obvious, but the British government hesitated.
02:18The orders from London were to literally do nothing.
02:21The Brass worried about diplomatic fallout.
02:24They wanted to avoid provoking local Iraqi leaders.
02:27To the SAS, this was absurd.
02:29The American Delta Force even offered to storm the prison,
02:32but the Brits insisted on handling their own.
02:35Meanwhile, Campbell and Griffiths were playing a different game, survival.
02:39They fed their captors just enough information to stall execution,
02:42but refused to give up any real intelligence.
02:46With no official green light, Colonel John Lorimer,
02:49commander of the 12th Mechanized Brigade, took matters into his own hands.
02:53Ignoring orders, 20 SAS operators and 40 British paratroopers
02:57deployed for an all-out rescue mission.
03:05First, they stormed the police station.
03:08British armored units surrounded the complex,
03:10blocking off any potential reinforcements.
03:12Crowds of angry Iraqis gathered, throwing Molotov cocktails at the tanks.
03:16Some even opened fire.
03:18Still, London refused to authorize an assault.
03:21In one last attempt at diplomacy,
03:23two British officers entered the station to negotiate
03:25and were immediately taken hostage.
03:28That was it. The SAS knew they had only one shot left.
03:35Then, a miracle.
03:37A British surveillance helicopter spotted something strange.
03:40It was a small group of men leading two blindfolded prisoners out of the police station.
03:44The Iraqis weren't going to hold on to Campbell and Griffiths much longer.
03:47They were handing them over to a militia.
03:50The hostages were disguised in dish-dashes, long Arab robes,
03:54to blend in with civilians.
03:56But the SAS wasn't fooled.
03:58They tracked them to a heavily guarded militia safehouse.
04:01There was no more waiting.
04:03The SAS executed a flawless, multi-pronged assault.
04:06Tanks smashed through the police station walls, sending Iraqi officers running.
04:09Infantry stormed the prison, securing the site and extracting intel.
04:13The SAS operators hit the militia compound with surgical precision,
04:16breaching multiple entry points at once.
04:19Gunfire erupted. Explosions rocked the night.
04:22Within minutes, the resistance was crushed.
04:24Inside, they found their men, handcuffed, bloodied, but alive.
04:32The mission was a stunning success,
04:34but back in London, the political fallout was just beginning.
04:37Technically, the SAS had gone rogue.
04:39The order was only to secure the area, not attack.
04:42But when the entire SAS threatened to resign,
04:44the government had no choice but to back the operation.
04:47No hesitation. No regrets.
04:49Because in the end, who dares, wins.
04:53Did the British government make the right call,
04:56or should they have let the SAS handle things from the start?
04:59Let us know in the comments.
05:01If you'd like to learn more about the heroes of the British Special Air Service,
05:04I highly recommend checking out Ben McIntyre's book, SAS Rogue Heroes.
05:08The link is at the bottom left of your screen.
05:11If you enjoyed this breakdown of one of the SAS' most daring hostage rescues,
05:15leave a like and subscribe.
05:16We've got plenty more coming your way.
05:18See you next time.