Posted on 08/14/2008 3:12:43 AM PDT by The Raven
A controversy has broken out in London over Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the honor of Britain's military, and Iraq. It's a reminder of the road America could have taken before the surge made victory possible -- and a warning to politicians who are slaves to public opinion in war.
The story starts with this spring's military offensive by the Iraqi government to oust the Shiite militias from the southern city of Basra. The British were given coalition control in the south starting in 2003. Yet when the Iraqi military ran into trouble at the start of their operation this year, the 4,100 Brits remained in their garrison at the airport outside the city. The Iraqis had to call in the Americans from the north for air cover and other support to help defeat radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. It was the first time the U.S. had deployed to the British-controlled region of Iraq in five years. The operation turned into a major success, with the Mahdi Army routed and the Iraq government in control.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I'll say !!!
The Democrats want to turn our military into a Euorpean one.
Great!
“....All point to a failure of political leadership. It turns out that last September the British had struck a deal with Mr. Sadr, essentially ceding him control over Basra and releasing some 120 militia regulars from custody.
In exchange, the Mahdi Army let U.K. troops beat a retreat from their base inside Basra to the airport unmolested. The Times of London reports that under the deal no soldier could set foot back in the city without express permission from Defense Minister Des Browne. Reports from Iraq add that the British performance has led to significant cooling of relations between the U.S. and British military forces in Iraq...”
Elections have consequences!
Of interest PING!
The Brits gave up Basra long before the move to the airport.
I had a relative in the compound and the Brits had decided that the Sadr army could have Basra and that Iran was really in charge.
When Rice visited she was shocked to find out that none of the US diplomats had not been our the compound in months. The Brits had given up and had no idea how to fight their way out. Hence the traitorous truce.
What a p***-poor excuse this is! The Blokes have been there since 2003. Surely 5 years is enough time to get the equipment there.
Churchill. Monty. Wellington. Nelson. Pitt. Drake. Henry V. The Black Prince. The Lionheart. Alfred the Great. They are all spinning in their graves over this.
Brown had an eye on the sizeable UK Muslim population, as well. God forbid British soldiers offend Islam. They’re doomed.
britian is a weak and undependable ally. they should be treated as such.
They made these kind of truces with the Taliban in Afghanistan also if I’m not mistaken.
Thanks VR.
Another thread about this general topic. I agree, its a serious issue.
Not much I can say really. It looks as though a deal was done somewhere. I would place blame directly on our political class, and the Labour Party.
Still, despite politicians placing caveats on our Basra troops at the back end of last year, we still provided a valuable support role with jet, helicopters, trucks, ammunition, water and food, and artillery support for the Iraqi Army (14 Div?)assault on Basra. In the circumstances, I would hve much rathered our boys send a couple of companies into Basra, as a face saving gesture as anything else.
Currently though, our forces (and the US) have mentoring teams set up working alongside IA in Basra. These number a significant amount. Many of our other soldiers are patrolling in Maysan, trying to reduce the flow of arms from Iran. Im not entirely happy how we got to this point, but the results are seemingly excellent thus far.
I dont agree. BritAIN has stood with US forces since 9/11. We have been in Iraq since it all started. Every other nation has bugged out.
We have 8,000 in Afghanistan. Doing the hard fighting in the South. This is Taliban central, with de facto front lines formed and daily contacts.
All told we have lost nearly 300 troops in the conflicts, with many hundreds more wounded. Attacked at home and abroad by terrorists, we haven’t caved in.
Oh, and our Navy patrols across the seas. North and South Atlantic, the Med, Gulf, Indian Ocean etc... The Iron Duke patrolling near the Americas has made a number of drugs busts, taking millions of pounds away from international cartels and terrorists. Prince William himself was involved in one such bust.
Oh, and our nuclear subs provide a continuous at sea deterence. Needed now more than ever with the Russian Bear waking and flexing her muscles.
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