UK Returns Basra to Iraq-Namese Control

British troops turned control of Basra province over to the Iraq-Namese yesterday. This is the 9th of 18 provinces to be given back. Major General Graham Binns said, “I came to rid Basra of its enemies and I now formally hand Basra back to its friends.” If only one could be sure.

Major General Jalil Khalaf, the new police commander of the province, was interviewed for Guardian Films and ITV. He said, “They left me militia, they left me gangsters, and they left me all the troubles in the world.” He added, “We need the British to help us to watch our borders - both sea and land and we need their intelligence and air support and to keep training the Iraqi police.” Since he’s the one with the responsibilities, his words are alarming.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband acknowledged that the Brits were not handing back a “land of milk and honey.” But he argued, “The key conditions for the transfer of security responsibility to the Iraqi security forces are whether they are up to it: do they have the numbers? Do they have the leadership and training to provide leadership for this province? And the answer to those three questions is yes.”

Perhaps. At the same time, the Shi’ite militia runs the port at Basra, and consequently, has access to all sorts of goods and bribes. They are better armed that General Khalaf’s men. And they seem to be the lot who killed 45 women in the last three months for being “immoral.” He added, “They are being killed because they are accused of behaving in an immoral way. When they kill them they put underwear and indecent clothes on them.” But they could have been killed for any reason and then the murder is excused because of their alleged immorality.

General Khalaf said, “I don't think the British meant for this mess to happen. When they disbanded the Iraqi police and military after Saddam fell the people they put in their place were not loyal to the Iraqi government. The British trained and armed these people in the extremist groups and now we are faced with a situation where these police are loyal to their parties not their country.”

Colonel Tim Collins, commander of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, said, “My own view is frankly that there was great incompetence in the military leadership. Those who agreed to cut the size of the Armed Forces, as they did in 2003, at the same time agreed to taking on a further commitment in Afghanistan in the sure and certain knowledge that they were unable to cope in Basra. It is deep incompetence, in my view. I think that the removal of Saddam Hussein was a good thing. I think the chaos in Basra is a temporary thing, because I am certain that the US - which is fast getting control of the rest of the country - will sort it out. It leaves the UK’s military reputation badly damaged.”

Something about staying west of Suez comes to mind.

© 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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