Skip to content

Iraq War: Soldier's doubt over success of conflict

Liam Spillane joined the Army in 1999 and, after tours of duty with the Welsh Guards in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, he was deployed to Iraq in 2005.

Winning the 'hearts and minds' of the Iraqi people was often cited as a main aim of the war.

"Kids used to come up and they'd mill around," he said. "And you want to be that approachable soldier."

But dangers on the ground didn't always allow for that.

19 March 2023

Explore More

A woman has her make up done in a Swansea salon for Beaujolais Day

'Beaujolais day is Swansea's Christmas'

Dylan Thomas, who is wearing a blue jumper and has brown hair, is smiling at the camera

Watch: Cardiff murderer's 999 call and arrest

Weather

Strong winds and flooding as Storm Bert arrives

Picture of a fox and Dafydd Hughes sat in the back of his van

How I obstruct trail fox hunting as a saboteur

Golden horn

Huge football golden horn proves lucky for Wales

BBC reporter, Megan Davies, is central looking at the camera. She in presenting the social video. On her left is are images of a dog and a traditonal fox hunting helmet. On her right is a fox. All three images have been photo edited into the shot rather than placed there. On the table is a coffee insulation cup

Are people still fox hunting?

Flamingos in water with snow on the grass behind

Wildlife explores snow-covered Wales

Sheep in snowy field

Snow blankets parts of Wales in 'taste of winter'

Erin Lister

Man who binned Bitcoin says it's now worth £500m

Sabrina Lee stood in the BBC studio wearing a thick black coat with a hood

What you need to know with snow forecast

Darren Brown wearing grey polo and stood in front of police van

Watch as man who stabbed wife at their home arrested

Rachel Davies wearing a hospital gown and lying in a bed.

Welsh cancer patient denied life-extending drug

Ceri Roberts

Lottery winner describes 'life-changing' impact

A woman in a wheelchair. She is wearing a black jumper and a white and black skirt.

The women who are asked 'how do you have sex?'

Red buzzer with a hand on

Watch children's messages shame hospital smokers

Shane Lewis-Hughes

Rugby mental health in right direction - player

Megan Davies with road sign saying Yr Wyddfa

Learn how to say Wales' tallest mountain in Welsh

Birdseye view of the destroyed buildings and fire crews battling the blaze

Drone footage shows firefighters battling blaze

The street with orange blaze behind

More than 100 firefighters tackle town centre blaze

Lloyd running

Runner with Down's syndrome dances through marathon

Natasha Harding in a Liverpool football kit

Ex-football star 'took thousands'

Natasha Harding is facing claims that she took money for one-to-one coaching that she did not deliver.

McLaren driver trying to beat the boys to F1

Ella Lloyd is on a mission to make it to Formula 1 after joining McLaren's academy for 2025.

Jez Daniels walking through Morrisons store waring all balck and a face mask and holding his hands up in the air, through a CCTV image

Watch as veteran is wrongly accused of shoplifting

Jez Daniels is accused of shoplifting but says staff at the Newport store racially profiled him.

A road with an ambulance and two crashed cars. A white car and black car have hit each other head-on.

Fatal crash driver on wrong side of the road

Polish chef Mateusz Sikorski was jailed for causing a head on collision with Christopher Boyle.

Blonde woman smiling, wearing a denim shirt and standing in front of a wall of cards and jumpers with designs on them.

Small business owner finds card designs on Temu

Anwen Roberts was heartbroken after finding her cards were sold on Temu without her permission.

Fireworks visible lighting up the sky and shooting into the crowd.

Screams as crowd hit by fireworks at display

A woman says her children are "traumatised" and "will never want to go and see fireworks again".

Rosie-May, aged four, caught ablaze when she was hit by a flare

Mum describes moment daughter was hit by firework

Ellie Mason was watching a display with daughter Rosie-May, aged four, when she was hit by a flare.

Lewys

Homeless man inspires boy, 8, to run 26 miles

Lewys, 8, has decided to run a mile daily for 26 days to raise money for homeless charities.

Family photo

Family considers England move over childcare costs

A mother-of-three says moving 10 miles into England could save her over £1,000 in childcare a month.

Mandy and Colleen wearing hoodies and standing in front of a football pitch smiling

International teammates play together 44 years on

Colleen O’Connor and Mandy Beech are reunited at walking football, 44 years after playing for Wales.

Black and white grainy CCTV image of two thieves stealing a quad bike from a farm shed

CCTV shows thieves stealing quad bike from farm

Farmer Mark Davies says the theft has made his family scared of going outside at night.

Rhys dressed as satanic mechanic, peering out a window with a red glow in front of his face

What does it take to be a fa-boo-lous scare actor?

BBC Wales goes behind the scenes at Fonmon Castle at the spookiest time of the year.

Shakila Meli wearing white headscarf with blue flowers

Racism victim: 'I'm not going to run any more'

A mother who was racially abused at a bus stop says she was shocked, but refused to back down.

The Very Reverend Canon Dr Jason Bray

Meet the priest who investigates paranormal reports

The Very Reverend Dr Jason Bray is called to investigate reports of the supernatural in Cardiff.

Pumpkin can be blended up and used for skin care

What can you do with your pumpkin leftovers?

Don't just chuck them out after you have carved them up for Halloween.

A man was filmed hanging on to the bonnet of the A48 dual carriageway in Cardiff

Watch man cling to bonnet of car driving down road

The scenes were caught on camera by a motorist travelling in the opposite direction.

Shelley Phelps standing in front of the black door at 10 downing street

Welsh ministers hope for new money in Budget

What could Rachel Reeves' first Budget mean for Wales?

Jess Jenkinson did not want husband Jonathan Jenkinson to go to Afghanistan

I can't believe I let my husband go to war

Jess Jenkinson did not want her husband to return to Afghanistan after he came home injured.

Angharad

Mum says having a stroke gave her a new outlook

Angharad Dennis had a stroke in March, but said it has given her a fresh perspective on life.

Scarlett sitting at a table

Selective mutism makes me feel invisible

Scarlett, 15, has selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that leaves people unable to speak at times.