Battle to retake Basra was 'complete disaster'

Telegraph (UK) ^ | 12:34am BST 20/04/2008 | Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The British-trained Iraqi Army's attempt to retake Basra from militiamen was an "unmitigated disaster at every level", British commanders have disclosed.

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  Senior sources have said that the mission was undermined by incompetent officers and untrained troops who were sent into battle with inadequate supplies of food, water and ammunition.

  	Iraqi soldiers at the Divisional Training Centre outside Basra

  They said the failure had delayed the British withdrawal by "many months".
  
  Their comments came as the Iraqi army, this time directly supported by American and British forces, began a second operation in Basra in an attempt to find insurgent weapons caches.
  
  The push, which was met with fierce resistance, took place in the Hayania district of the city, where there were clashes two weeks ago.

  In the first operation, it is understood that one Iraqi brigade became a "busted flush" after 1,200 of its soldiers deserted.

  At one stage during the battle, stories were circulating at the British headquarters that Iraqi troops were demanding food and water from coalition forces at gunpoint. "It was an unmitigated disaster at every level," an officer said.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Not sure I believe this report....

[snarks_when_bored]

The repeated Israeli victories of years past (leaving aside last year’s Lebanon crap) over ‘vast Arab armies’ are looking less and less amazing every day, I fear.

[GOP_Party_Animal]

At one stage during the battle, stories were circulating at the British headquarters that Iraqi troops were demanding food and water from coalition forces at gunpoint.

I guess rumor and falsehood counts as reporting from this media outlet.

[doc1019]

Now which is it … we kicked arse in Basra or we didn’t? Conflicting news reports. ????

[SunTzuWu]

Kind of opposite to the story you posted here. The Telegraph (UK) seems to be a lot like Reuters in their reliability.

[skinkinthegrass]

...wasn't there a story; week/two weeks ago, how the USmil saved this battle from being lost?

[skinkinthegrass]

thanks, for the illumination.

[Bahbah]

Not sure I believe this report....

I'm pretty sure that I don't.

[navyguy]

The Telegraph is a blatantly Left wing publication. They’ll say ANYTHING to help the enemy.

[Chgogal]

I don't want to be a Brit basher, but it always bothered me that it took Britain almost as long to take Basra as it took for the US to get to Baghdad. I really don't take too much stock on any criticism from the British media on this. Some of the neighborhoods of Basra will have to be won block by block.

[Cicero]

I don’t think I believe it.

What’s more, although the British military is certainly competent, from what I understand they held back from doing anything in their area for the past several years, which is one reason why there’s a problem now.

The last thing they would want to admit is that the Iraqi army, imperfect as it is, accomplished something they never even tried.

[Selmore]

Basra was handed back to Iraqi control last year after the Army withdrew from its last military base in the city.

Withdrew?? When I read about it last year I thought it was a retreat.

[golfisnr1]

This is total BS. A terrible hit piece.

[piytar]

“We” were in a support role. Measured in terms of a US or UK miltary op, it was a train wreck. Measured in terms of a fledgling Iraqi Army with troops and officers that wouldn’t even be allowed in a US or UK force as janitors, it was a big win, if severely flawed from a modern ops perspective.

[denydenydeny]

A little reading between the lines is necessary. The reason the British are whining to the press (and that's all this article is) is explained in the following sentence:

They said the failure had delayed the British withdrawal by "many months".

The British have been winking at the Sadrists and the Mahdi Army in Basra for five years and have done absolutely nothing about the presence of a private army of terrorists basically running the second-largest city in Iraq. Sadr would run the city, and would keep a "peace" that would in time allow the British to leave.

Maliki's military action against Sadr destroyed the understanding that the British had reached in Basra--but it was an understanding that needed destroying.

[Uriah_lost]

Its just UK Forces brass too embarrassed to admit that the Iraqis did what they refused to do. If they’d turned the Squadies loose, the problems could have been handled long since.

[glorgau]

What a crock. It seems that there is nobody willing to put their own name on all of these accusations. Nothing but hearsay.

[icwhatudo]

LOL

The total disaster.....just won.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004190/posts

[golfisnr1]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/world/middleeast/20iraq.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin