Brits Hand Over Basra Palace to Iraq-Namese

They took the Union Jack down from its place above the Basra palace compound late last night local time. The last of the foreign troops left Basra at around 4:30 am today, and the Brits are now headquartered at the airport. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was adamant that this was not a sign of defeat, “Let me make this very clear. This is a pre-planned, and this is an organized move from Basra Palace to Basra Air Station.” The city is now up for grabs among the various Shi’ite militias.

Basra is the economic key to the entire country. The oil flows out (when it flows) through Basra, and all the stuff the country needs flows in. Who controls Basra controls the economy. Controlling the economy goes a long way to controlling the nation. That isn’t to say the Brits have nothing more to do with the province. The Ministry of Defence issued a statement that said the UK would “retain security responsibility for Basra until we hand over to provincial Iraqi control, which we anticipate in the autumn.”

The Brits were also careful to ensure that the Americans were on board with the decision. “The decision is an Iraqi-led initiative and is part of a coalition-endorsed process,” the MoD said. That may be, but the Americans aren’t in a position to fuss over Basra. The surge in Baghdad and al Anbar are keeping them busy enough.

However, it is a prelude to a final British withdrawal. Former Labour defence minister Peter Kilfoyle told the “Today” program, “There is a political dimension to this and a political impetus, and I am quite sure that this is a prelude to the complete withdrawal from Iraq itself. I also think politically that Gordon Brown would also very much want to ensure that he is seen as the prime minister who takes the troops out of Iraq as opposed to having put them in.” And he’s quite right.

When there are no more British troops in Iraq-Nam, it will put pressure on the US to quit as well. There is no sign that Mr. Bush will do so, but he is president for “only” another 500 days or so. His coalition of the willing has evaporated, and his pal Tony Blair is gone. How long it takes his successor to get the troops withdrawn is a matter of planning -- something Mr. Bush was never very good at doing.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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