Monday, August 20, 2007
British officers urging U.K. PM to withdraw forces from Basra
Security
(Telegraph) - British forces will face an "embarrassing and ugly retreat" if they pull out of Iraq too quickly, an adviser to the American president was reported as saying. But it was also reported that senior British officers are urging the Prime Minister to pull out the 5,500 troops without delay because there was "nothing more" they could achieve in Basra.
Stephen Biddle, an American academic and military adviser to President George W Bush, said when British troops pull out from their last barracks in Basra in the coming months it will be "a hard withdrawal". Rogue Shia militias, backed by Iran, were using multiple ambushes and bombings to create the impression that they were forcing Britain out of Basra.
"They want the image of a British defeat - it will be ugly and embarrassing," Mr Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations, told the Sunday Times. While Gordon Brown is thought to have wanted a rapid withdrawal he will now wait until at least after the American commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has reported to Congress on the success of the US "surge" on Sept 15.
At the Camp David meeting with President Bush, Gordon Brown said "we have duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep". But Army generals have advised the Prime Minister that "we have done what we can" in Basra and it was time to hand over control to the Iraqis, the Independent on Sunday reported. While commanders estimate that an orderly British withdrawal could cost between 10 and 15 dead, it was necessary for the Army's capability to remain "reasonably intact".
However, there are deep concerns among American commanders that a hasty British retreat would leave southern Iraq open to domination from Iranian-backed Shia militias who would also control its vast oil wealth. The CIA is also keen to keep a foothold in Basra where they can monitor the insurgents and Iran. Mr Brown said he would make a full statement on the Iraq situation when Parliament sits again in October. In the coming weeks the British mission will drop by 500 troops to 5,500 but could fall significantly next year.
Stephen Biddle, an American academic and military adviser to President George W Bush, said when British troops pull out from their last barracks in Basra in the coming months it will be "a hard withdrawal". Rogue Shia militias, backed by Iran, were using multiple ambushes and bombings to create the impression that they were forcing Britain out of Basra.
"They want the image of a British defeat - it will be ugly and embarrassing," Mr Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations, told the Sunday Times. While Gordon Brown is thought to have wanted a rapid withdrawal he will now wait until at least after the American commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has reported to Congress on the success of the US "surge" on Sept 15.
At the Camp David meeting with President Bush, Gordon Brown said "we have duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep". But Army generals have advised the Prime Minister that "we have done what we can" in Basra and it was time to hand over control to the Iraqis, the Independent on Sunday reported. While commanders estimate that an orderly British withdrawal could cost between 10 and 15 dead, it was necessary for the Army's capability to remain "reasonably intact".
However, there are deep concerns among American commanders that a hasty British retreat would leave southern Iraq open to domination from Iranian-backed Shia militias who would also control its vast oil wealth. The CIA is also keen to keep a foothold in Basra where they can monitor the insurgents and Iran. Mr Brown said he would make a full statement on the Iraq situation when Parliament sits again in October. In the coming weeks the British mission will drop by 500 troops to 5,500 but could fall significantly next year.
Labels: Basra, British troop withdrawal, Shiite militants, southern Iraq, Stephen Biddle
Sunday, May 06, 2007
U.S. forces arrest Shiites accused of smuggling bombs from Iran
Security
(AP) - U.S.-led forces on Friday arrested suspected Shiite militants accused of smuggling powerful bomb components from Iran, and clashes between Shiite factions broke out in two major cities. The U.S. announced the deaths of five American soldiers - three of them in bombings. The arrests occurred during a raid early Friday in Baghdad's teeming Shiite district of Sadr City, stronghold of the notorious Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
A U.S. military statement did not identify them as Mahdi Army members but said they were part of a "secret cell" that smuggles powerful bombs known as "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, from Iran and sends Shiite fighters from Iraq for training in Iran. U.S. and some Iraqi officials suspect the Iranians may be stoking a growing power struggle among Shiite factions and political parties - despite the Tehran government's insistence that it is working to help bring stability to its neighbor Iraq.
Clashes broke out Friday in Baghdad and in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf when police said Mahdi Army gunmen attacked offices of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Republic in Iraq, or SCIRI, a key member of the U.S.-backed Iraqi government but with strong ties to Tehran. Four people were injured in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, prompting local authorities to impose a curfew. The clash in Baghdad occurred when Mahdi gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at a SCIRI office in the Habibiya district, injuring two guards, police said.
In Diwaniyah, a Shiite city 80 miles south of Baghdad, suspected Shiite gunmen attacked a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol late Friday, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding four civilians, police said. It was unclear what provoked the attacks, but they appeared to be part of an escalating power struggle brewing throughout the dominant Shiite community, which intensified after Britain announced plans to draw down its troops in the mostly Shiite south.
Shiite parties are trying to oust the Shiite governor of oil-rich Basra province, and violence has broken out recently in Kut and other Shiite cities. Some Mahdi Army members in Sadr City have said a pro-Iranian faction has been sending fighters to Iran for training. The members spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their own safety.
In another sign of unrest, hundreds of angry Shiites poured onto the streets of Najaf and Basra to protest what they considered insults by Al-Jazeera television against Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
The protesters were angered by an Al-Jazeera talk show this week in which the host, Egyptian Ahmed Mansour, questioned al-Sistani's leadership credentials and whether he authored his own religious edicts.
Unrest in Shiite areas adds a new and dangerous dimension to the challenge facing U.S. forces as they try to restore order in the capital during the 11-week Baghdad security operation.
Attacks using EFPs, the signature weapon of Shiite militias, are on the rise. The increase in attacks using EFPs, which the U.S. says come from Iran, suggest that the Shiite extremists may be shifting tactics, reducing their slaughter of Sunni civilians but focusing more on U.S. and Iraqi forces.
A U.S. military statement did not identify them as Mahdi Army members but said they were part of a "secret cell" that smuggles powerful bombs known as "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, from Iran and sends Shiite fighters from Iraq for training in Iran. U.S. and some Iraqi officials suspect the Iranians may be stoking a growing power struggle among Shiite factions and political parties - despite the Tehran government's insistence that it is working to help bring stability to its neighbor Iraq.
Clashes broke out Friday in Baghdad and in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf when police said Mahdi Army gunmen attacked offices of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Republic in Iraq, or SCIRI, a key member of the U.S.-backed Iraqi government but with strong ties to Tehran. Four people were injured in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, prompting local authorities to impose a curfew. The clash in Baghdad occurred when Mahdi gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at a SCIRI office in the Habibiya district, injuring two guards, police said.
In Diwaniyah, a Shiite city 80 miles south of Baghdad, suspected Shiite gunmen attacked a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol late Friday, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding four civilians, police said. It was unclear what provoked the attacks, but they appeared to be part of an escalating power struggle brewing throughout the dominant Shiite community, which intensified after Britain announced plans to draw down its troops in the mostly Shiite south.
Shiite parties are trying to oust the Shiite governor of oil-rich Basra province, and violence has broken out recently in Kut and other Shiite cities. Some Mahdi Army members in Sadr City have said a pro-Iranian faction has been sending fighters to Iran for training. The members spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their own safety.
In another sign of unrest, hundreds of angry Shiites poured onto the streets of Najaf and Basra to protest what they considered insults by Al-Jazeera television against Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
The protesters were angered by an Al-Jazeera talk show this week in which the host, Egyptian Ahmed Mansour, questioned al-Sistani's leadership credentials and whether he authored his own religious edicts.
Unrest in Shiite areas adds a new and dangerous dimension to the challenge facing U.S. forces as they try to restore order in the capital during the 11-week Baghdad security operation.
Attacks using EFPs, the signature weapon of Shiite militias, are on the rise. The increase in attacks using EFPs, which the U.S. says come from Iran, suggest that the Shiite extremists may be shifting tactics, reducing their slaughter of Sunni civilians but focusing more on U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Labels: EFPs, explosively formed projectiles, Iran, Mahdi Army, Najaf, Sadr City, SCIRI, Shiite militants, Sistani, U.S. forces
