Friday, August 24, 2007
British troops on verge of pullout from Basra
Security
(The Guardian) - Britain's long-awaited and much-postponed pull-out from the Basra palace, its last remaining base in the Iraqi city, is imminent, sources have told the Guardian. The move, which is symbolically significant and will improve the safety of British troops, is expected to take place within the next two weeks and may come within days, officials say. An announcement will be made by the Iraqis.
The decision to hand over the palace to Iraqi forces comes at a time of growing criticism by elements in the US military of Britain's role in southern Iraq. The criticism is dismissed by British military commanders. "All indications are it shouldn't be far away," Major Mike Shearer, the army's spokesman in Basra, said when asked about the handover of the Basra palace. Privately, defence officials go further, saying a decision in principle has been taken and the 500 British troops based there are on the verge of leaving.
British troops have made it clear they believe their presence at the palace carries huge risks but serves no useful purpose. Kevan Jones, a Labour member of the Commons defence committee recently returned from a visit to Basra, described the delivery of supplies to the British garrison at the Basra palace as "nightly suicide missions". He added: "We have a force surrounded like cowboys and Indians in the Basra palace." Other MPs said British troops told them the only reason they were staying in southern Iraq was "because of our relations with the US" and "American domestic sensibilities".
Jack Keane, a former US general and Pentagon envoy just back from Iraq, told the BBC on Wednesday that the British were more focused on training Iraqi troops than controlling "deteriorating" security. He described the situation in Basra as "almost gangland warfare". Defence officials suggest American criticism is partly the result of deep-seated resentment at previous British criticism of the US in Iraq. A Foreign Office memo leaked in 2004 referred to "heavy-handed US military tactics" fuelling "both Sunni and Shia opposition to the coalition" which had "lost us much public support inside Iraq".
Major Shearer implicitly rejected US critics of British tactics. "We are absolutely moving in the right direction", he said. Britain was "giving space" to the Iraqis so they could take the lead in policing their city. "It makes absolute sense we reduce our operational footprint", he added.
"We would not hand over [to the Iraqis] believing we were going to create a security vacuum. That would be madness in the extreme," one official insisted. However, military commanders have long been frustrated by the time it is taking to train an effective Iraqi army in the south and by the problems forming a police force, many of whom have links with Shia militia.
The decision to hand over the palace to Iraqi forces comes at a time of growing criticism by elements in the US military of Britain's role in southern Iraq. The criticism is dismissed by British military commanders. "All indications are it shouldn't be far away," Major Mike Shearer, the army's spokesman in Basra, said when asked about the handover of the Basra palace. Privately, defence officials go further, saying a decision in principle has been taken and the 500 British troops based there are on the verge of leaving.
British troops have made it clear they believe their presence at the palace carries huge risks but serves no useful purpose. Kevan Jones, a Labour member of the Commons defence committee recently returned from a visit to Basra, described the delivery of supplies to the British garrison at the Basra palace as "nightly suicide missions". He added: "We have a force surrounded like cowboys and Indians in the Basra palace." Other MPs said British troops told them the only reason they were staying in southern Iraq was "because of our relations with the US" and "American domestic sensibilities".
Jack Keane, a former US general and Pentagon envoy just back from Iraq, told the BBC on Wednesday that the British were more focused on training Iraqi troops than controlling "deteriorating" security. He described the situation in Basra as "almost gangland warfare". Defence officials suggest American criticism is partly the result of deep-seated resentment at previous British criticism of the US in Iraq. A Foreign Office memo leaked in 2004 referred to "heavy-handed US military tactics" fuelling "both Sunni and Shia opposition to the coalition" which had "lost us much public support inside Iraq".
Major Shearer implicitly rejected US critics of British tactics. "We are absolutely moving in the right direction", he said. Britain was "giving space" to the Iraqis so they could take the lead in policing their city. "It makes absolute sense we reduce our operational footprint", he added.
"We would not hand over [to the Iraqis] believing we were going to create a security vacuum. That would be madness in the extreme," one official insisted. However, military commanders have long been frustrated by the time it is taking to train an effective Iraqi army in the south and by the problems forming a police force, many of whom have links with Shia militia.
Labels: Basra, British troop withdrawal, Major Mike Shearer, militias
