BBC: UK Basra deal claims 'not true'

BBC ^ | Tuesday, 5 August 2008 19:44 UK | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

UK Basra deal claims 'not true'

A deal allowed UK troops to withdraw to Basra's airport last summer

The defence secretary has said reports British soldiers delayed helping Iraqi troops in Basra because of a deal with militiamen were "simply not true".

The Times said a secret pact with the Mehdi Army kept British forces on the sidelines for days while an attack was launched on the Shia group in March.

While officials denied the pact, but admitted a previous deal, Des Browne said he never constrained the military.

The Conservatives said the public had not been given the "full picture".

Responding to questions from shadow defence secretary Liam Fox, Mr Browne said: "The allegations made in the Times article are simply not true - there was no deal, never mind a deal preventing the UK military from entering Basra.

He said this had been made clear in a letter to the Times by Air Vice Chief Marshall Chris Nickols.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[WoofDog123]

” While officials denied the pact, but admitted a previous deal, Des Browne said he never constrained the military.

The Conservatives said the public had not been given the “full picture”. “

One is led to ask what are the deal(s) that have been made?

[Oldexpat]

The move of the British forces from their palace site to the airport required a lot of logistics and they had just let Basra be ruled by Mahdi army so they needed a Cease Fire to get the move done and they offered something in return.
I had a inside source in the palace site when the move was being planned.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related threads:

Secret deal kept British Army out of battle for Basra

Secret deal kept British Army out of battle for Basra

'Secret Deal' Kept British Troops Out of Basra Battle

And from the Blogosphere:

Secret deal kept British Army out of battle for Basra

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now that is very interesting......

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ping!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related BBC Report:

Did Britain make Mehdi Army pact?

*****************************EXCERPT************************

Page last updated at 14:23 GMT, Tuesday, 5 August 2008 15:23 UK

The British in Basra made a secret pact with the Mehdi Army which kept the military out of March's Iraqi-led offensive against the Shia militia for a week, according to the Times newspaper.

The BBC's Crispin Thorold, in Baghdad, assesses whether such an "accommodation" could have been possible.

In March this year the Iraqi security forces launched a major offensive against the Mehdi Army, a Shia militia, in Iraq's second city Basra. From the beginning the British described that operation as "Iraqi planned, led and executed".

But once again questions are being asked about why the British were so slow to put their troops on the ground in the city.

From the earliest hours of the Iraqi military operations in Basra it was clear that things were not going according to plan.

MoD denial

The resistance by Shia militiamen was much stronger than had been anticipated.

Yet British troops were only deployed from Basra's airport into the city after nearly a week of fighting.

Could that decision have been dictated by a secret deal between the British and the Mehdi Army, as suggested by the Times?

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

More FYI pinging...!

[Marine_Uncle]

I am going to refrain from finger pointing on this one.

[dervish]

I guess this is what the Brits meant when they laughed at US incompetence in handling Iraq compared to their own expertice.

And then there is this

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article551063.ece (RIP Steven Vincent)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/basra-betrayed-when-the-british-leave-will-the-mahdi-army-replace-them-437792.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/may/30/iraqandthemedia.iraq (I know the Guardian is a rag but they get it right here)

[RJL]

The defence secretary has said reports British soldiers delayed helping Iraqi troops in Basra because of a deal with militiamen were "simply not true".

Remember, this guy's a liberal.

If there was no "deal" with militiamen, was there an "accommodation", "understanding" or "agreement"?

[Mercia]

ha, yeah thanks man. I feel a bit better, but still unsure of what to believe. Something in the middle of both arguments probably.