Brown's betrayal of Basra is the real issue here

Kinglear

What can you expect? A coward will never face up to reality - even when other people are doing the fighting for him

Moraymint

Let's be honest. Gordon Brown has despised the military ever since his student activist days, which he's never really outgrown.

Taking little interest in the culture, work and fate of the armed forces, and screwing their budgets into the deck has probably been a source of some satisfaction for Brown.

On the other hand, chucking almost unimaginable amounts of taxpayers' money (and debt) at socialism's lost causes is much more Brown's style.

Look where it's got us.

GoodbyeGordon

Sadly you are right Fraser. This mendacious, arrogant coward will walk away scot free and will no doubt climb another couple of points in the polls. Is it any wonder the people of Britain are so deeply cynical about and even switching off from the political process.

MPs get away with ripping us off via expenses and guilty men like Blair and Brown are never brought to task for the wanton vandalism they have committed to our economy, our reputation abroad and to the memories of brave soldiers and ordinary law abiding citizens. Sadly, we are all to blame. We have allowed this coterie of unmitigated scoundrels 13 years of untrammelled power to do their worst and live out the dreams cooked up in the student union bar of the 1960s'. We look like compounding our own madness by re-electing a man whose arrogance and dishonesty will consign us to genrerations of moral and financial decay. We will get everything we deserve. Yours despairingly.

Michael Booth

or perhaps even Mrs Rochester's betrayal of Britain... just a thought

Walsingham's Ghost

With Chilcot presiding over questions only slghtly more challenging than 'tell us Prime Minister, what exactly is your favourite colour?..." this is not the platform to elicit additional information on the run-up to the invasion of Iraq or the subsequent under-funding of the campaign by HM Treasury.

DavidL

You're right. The abandonment of Basra and the subsequent actions of the Americans and Iraqi Government was the most shaming story for the British military since the second world war (not that I would blame the military who were placed in an impossible position by their political masters). It is quite clear that the Government could not take the weekly toll we now get from Afghanistan from the far more conroversial war in Iraq and that the Army's instructions were to do everything to keep UK casulaties to a minimum even if it meant abandoning all of their objectives. The painful extrication of troops from a city they were supposed to help control and the hiding at the airport were the result. The lies our Government told about this were shamefully exposed by the subsequent action but once again they got away with it. I doubt this will have much impact now.

Stonewall

Brown has studied his Marcuse and Reich (when doing an honest days work would have been more beneficial to all).
He knew war was the surest way to destroy the liberties of a democratic UK, he cared not who suffered in the process, and I specifically include the people of Basra too. He realised the shortest way to achieve destruction of this country was to starve one of its last institutions, the armed forces, of any meaningful resources.
I shall not pay any attention to Chilcott, or read or watch any reports on it. I can summarise Brown's contribution already.And in my opinion, true to his default position, Brown will be lying throughout, because his lips will move.

Nicholas

Of course he'll get away with it. Mainly thanks to your journo chums who seem to have permanantly suspended disbelief at this clown's antics.

oldtimer

From his evidence this am he appears to regard the British role in Basra as a triumph. He has implied as much at least twice so far.

Paul Wakeford

How many people died because of Brown's cowardice and mendacity in Basra? A shameful lesson how to to look the other way. Remember the way the EU forces looked away when muslims were killed in the Balkans? Sounds the same to me.

Alex

Brown will get away with it - as the easy line of questioning in the inquiry and follow up treatment by our MSM (esp. the BBC, Times, Telegraph etc) will be similar to what Blair had.

TrevorsDen

Correct this was an inglorious defeat for the British Army. The Army itself must take its share of the blame but it was operating with massively inadequate resources and without political support.

King Prawn

Given the fact Blair was forced to retire as PM because of his support of Israel in their war with Hezbollah in 2006 (even David Millipede failed to support), what restrictions were placed on Blair by his Caibinet in conducting the War in Basra?

hmmm

Brown lied. Troops died.

Paul Hawkins

The media blackout imposed by Blair during 2006,when the security situation in BASRA deteriorated is nothing short of shocking.This allowed various Ministers to claim all was well,which it was not. It also explains why many people do not realise what happened.

Ludwig von Crises

It is great pity that the operational chiefs in the MoD could not have submitted an Urgent Operational Requirement for the political spine and moral courage to complete the task we began. Alas, not least for the Basrawis, all the money that Brown would care to borrow, print or steal would not have made good that grievous 'capability gap' at the heart of our government.

Ghengis

Meanwhile, under cover of Brown's five hour deluge of obsfuscation, MP's collar another thousand pounds annually.

Michael Booth

"It wasn'ne me...it was those generals in the field that failed to request the proper eqipment...'

Shameless

jon dee

Bully Brown steamrollered an inept, unprepared panel with a trademark barrage of brownies, backed up by a welter of smokescreen statistics.

Yes, you were right - he appears to have got away with it again.

Brown's Basra remains a bloody fairy tale and those big bad Generals are guilty of neglecting their troops. Grieving families will continue to grieve.

Will there be a counter-attack ?

Jon

That's one narrative of what happened in Basra in 2007. The other is told by (among others) Brig Storrie (Comd 7 Armd Bde 2007-9) in the current BAR. It gives a rather different perspective.

stevie

I made the same point when on 5Live this afternoon, that Brown sounded way too proud of our failure.

TGF UKIP

Jon,am most interested in your post. Can you elucidate please or provide a link to where Brig Storrie's account is given. I am not familiar with the acronym BAR - British Army Report or what?

Meanwhile I note the Editor's continuing refusal to recognize the complicity of his friends in the story he tells.

Derek

British Army Review. An in house publication. Meanwhile you can get the gist from here.
http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/rcds/publications/seaford-house-papers/seaford-house-papers-2009/STORRIE

derek

Now found the academic paper itself, although I don't know if it is the same as the article in the journal.
http://da.mod.uk/defac/colleges/rcds/publications/seaford-house-papers/seaford-house-papers-2009/SHP2009STORRIE.pdf

Frank P

"Browns betrayal of Basra is the real issue here."

Really? How about highlighting the only issue that matters from now to May 6th - Brown's betrayal of Britain?