What Britain owes southern Iraq
4:01pm
Given that Tony Blair misled Britain on the way into war in Iraq, Gordon Brown had better be very careful not to mislead us on the way out. Are Iraqi forces really able to take on the militias of the warring Sadr and Hakim families? That’s what we’re told, but look at these two quotes from a New York Times piece
Hakim al-Mayahi, provisional council member in charge of security portfolio in Basra:
“We have a huge defect in the equipment and the arming of our security forces. The tribes and locals have better weapons than our security forces, who weren’t provided with more than the usual Kalashnikovs and RPGs while the tribes even have mortars and heavy machine guns”.
And this from Wael Saeed, a 34-year-old sportswear shop owner.
“We [in Basra] may become safe from mortars, but not from killing and assassination because the gangs and militias will feel more free to act without the presence of the British troops who are the only real power that can stop them.”
Invading Iraq then leaving its citizens to the mercies of death squads is not the British way. Gordon Brown says we stand ready to “re-intervene” if necessary, and I hope he means it. The next few months will be crucial. We took the south of Iraq into our care. We have a moral duty to leave it safer than we found it.
Previous
Tiberius
September 3rd, 2007 5:26pm Report this commentWe do indeed have a moral duty, but perhaps Brown's apparent pan-European views are affecting his decision-making. Why not leave any future dirty work in Iraq to Uncle Sam? And the British electorate will on the whole be pleased to see Brown retrenching from Basra City, especially give his spiel that this is not a defeat, but some kind of Napoleonic advance on Paris.
Hoi Polloi
September 3rd, 2007 7:03pm Report this commentIt's "cut and run" with back door deals being done with the militias to lay off the Brits. It will have not gone unnoticed in Afghanistan where we can now probably look forward to more dubious deals being done with the Taliban dressed up by the Army and MOD spinners as deals with "local tribesmen." After the Navy's humiliation in the Gulf and the inadequacy of the RAF's air support to our own forces, it's small wonder that the cousins are losing both patience and respect.
Fraser Nelson
September 3rd, 2007 9:51pm Report this commentHoi Polloi, that's an excellent point. Pakistan is deciding right now: does it stick with the West, or with al-Qaeda? Which (in bin Laden's phrase) is the stronger horse? Who will be there in five years' time? All this sends dangerous messages, and confirms that - as Niall Ferguson says in Colossus - the West has a pathetically small attention span. And Tiberius, I suspect Brown will get away with it. Who will accuse him of cutting and running? Not the Tories, who like to forget they ever backed the war.
FM
September 4th, 2007 11:20pm Report this commentEvery MP who supported this war should be sent to Basra Palace with a rifle and told not to leave until the city is peaceful and democratic. Blair should be in the lead. Once he has brought peace to Basra, he might have a hope in the Holy Land.
Back to top