-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Brits Face Basra "Security Meltdown"

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
The Independent - Jul 1, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2725713.ece

Brown's Wars Part 2: Meltdown on the frontline in Basra

The only people venturing out are British troops, and three died on the
PM's first day. Will Miliband persuade his boss to pull them out? 

By Raymond Whitaker

The blast that killed Private James Kerr and Private Scott Kennedy,
both 20, and Corporal Paul Joszko, 28, would have been heard across
half of Basra. It happened at 1am on Thursday in the deserted streets
of al-Antahiya, on the southern outskirts of the city.

The men would have known their mission was dangerous. They had left the
relative security of Basra air station - Britain's main base in Iraq,
which is spread across a wide expanse of desert bordering the city's
airport - to resupply the only British contingent still within the city
limits, at Basra Palace. There are only a few possible routes between
the two bases, as local insurgents well know, and most journeys are
undertaken by helicopter.

To minimise the risk of travelling by road, the convoy had gone to
Basra Palace in darkness, when ordinary residents of the city remain
indoors, behind high walls. The only people to venture out are British
troops - and those they are fighting. The soldiers had delivered their
supplies, and were on the way back when they left their Warrior
armoured vehicles to check their surroundings. At this point, it
appears, a hidden watcher triggered the bomb that killed the three men
and seriously wounded a fourth.

The loss of three soldiers in one attack, the second worst in Iraq so
far this year, brought the British toll since the 2003 invasion to 156.
Not only did it come on Gordon Brown's first full day as Prime
Minister, but one of the victims, Pte Kerr, was from Cowdenbeath, in
his constituency. In significant contrast to his predecessor, Tony
Blair, who never had contact with relatives of British soldiers lost in
Iraq or Afghanistan, Mr Brown telephoned Pte Kerr's mother to express
his condolences. Some wonder if that signals a change of approach on
Iraq.

The new Prime Minister was never expected to continue Mr Blair's
symbiotic relationship with George Bush, but Mr Brown's government
appointments removed any doubt. David Miliband, his Foreign Secretary,
privately doubted the wisdom of invading Iraq. Sir Mark Malloch Brown,
now a Foreign Office minister, made no secret of his view that the Iraq
war was almost certainly illegal. And John Denham, who quit the
Government in 2003 in protest at the war, is back.

The fact that Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence, was the
only minister to remain in the same post after Mr Brown's extensive
reshuffle may indicate that the new incumbent in No 10 saw the need for
some continuity in Britain's wars. This weekend Mr Miliband is closeted
with briefers, acquainting himself with all the complexities of his
portfolio. But the situation in southern Iraq carries its own momentum,
one that appears to point to an early exit for British troops.

In one of the most detailed independent reports on Basra since the
invasion, the authoritative International Crisis Group (ICG) last week
painted a devastating portrait of life in the city. It said Operation
Sinbad, Britain's attempt between September 2006 and March this year to
root out militias, restore security and kick-start economic
reconstruction, appeared at first to be a qualified success.
Criminality, political assassinations and sectarian killings receded
somewhat, and relative calm prevailed.

"Yet this reality was both superficial and fleeting," says the ICG
report. "By March-April 2007, renewed political tensions once more
threatened to destabilise the city, and relentless attacks on British
forces in effect had driven them off the streets into increasingly
secluded compounds. Basra's residents and militiamen view this not as
an orderly withdrawal, but rather as an ignominious defeat. Today the
city is controlled by militias."

The ICG blames Britain for "the most glaring failing of all": the
inability to establish a strong provincial administration capable of
enforcing its will. Instead of the political parties responsible for
the violence being confronted, they were treated as partners - an
object lesson, it says, of what the Americans should not do as they
carry out their security "surge" in Baghdad.

While others might disagree with the group's belief that British forces
could ever have achieved such a transformation in Basra, they probably
would not quarrel with its conclusion that "in Basra the British appear
to have given up on the idea of establishing a functioning state,
capable of equitably redistributing wealth and resources, establishing
respect for the rule of law and instituting a genuine and accountable
democracy". The report adds: "In any event, time is running out. Four
years after the fall of Saddam's regime, they are facing increasingly
frequent and bloody attacks, and it is hard to imagine them remaining
for long." Even if the coalition wanted to re-engage, says the ICG "it
already may well be too late".

That was clear the minute Mr Blair, for once going against American
wishes, announced early this year that British forces would be reduced
from just over 7,000 to their present 5,500. The bitter irony of last
week's attack is that the resupply convoy on which the three soldiers
died may well have been the last to Basra Palace, which is due to be
handed over to Iraqi forces any day now. That will leave the airport as
the only British base in Iraq.

Military sources believe another 500 troops may come home soon, but
that would be the last partial withdrawal: 5,000 is considered the
minimum to ensure that the remaining force can protect itself. But what
would be the point, many ask, of keeping them in one location, unable
to achieve much beyond acting as a magnet for insurgent attacks?

Critics argue that a precipitate British withdrawal would make the
violence in Basra even worse. The diminished British presence has
created worsening friction with American commanders, who are concerned
about the security of the supply route from Kuwait. If the British
left, they say, American troops would have to be sent south to fill the
void.

It was impossible to contemplate the end of the British mission in Iraq
while Tony Blair was PM. Nor is his successor likely to make any
dramatic announcement of a withdrawal soon. The most likely outcome,
possibly before the end of the year, is a quiet handover to the local
administration and the Iraqi army.

With the Afghan mission demanding all the personnel available, most
British troops would leave as soon as possible. Perhaps 1,500 would
remain to carry out training duties away from Basra. The timing may be
subject to uncertainty, but this weekend, for the first time since
2003, it seems possible to pose the uncomfortable question: who will be
the last British soldier to die in Iraq?

DEATHS IN IRAQ

Corporal John Rigby, 24

'Like all the best soldiers he inspired love, devotion and fierce
loyalty in his men,' said Lt-Col Patrick Saunders

Private James 'Jamie' Kerr, 20

Lt-Col James Swift said: 'Jamie was a popular, happy young man who
enjoyed soldiering and was good at it'

Corporal Paul Joszko, 28

'He was doggedly loyal, acutely professional and led his men firmly but
also with style and compassion,' said Lt-Col Swift

Private Scott Kennedy, 20

Major Steven Webb said: 'He was quick-witted, intelligent and possessed
a razor-sharp humour'
       
                                *
================================================================
 NY Transfer News Collective    *    A Service of Blythe Systems
           Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us          
 Search Archives: http://olm.blythe-systems.com/htdig/search.html
 List Archives:   http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
 Subscribe: http://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================================

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (FreeBSD)

iD8DBQFGiAkUiz2i76ou9wQRAoxHAKCdYSBEjgieEvj5Gwog6vYOqA89pQCfQTFJ
/Teg8a2alQ7k3/zLEylcrNk=
=bN0r
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----