Westminster Notes (Progress in Basra)
Sir Cyril Townsend Al-Hayat - 29/04/08//
There are signs that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's critical offensive against the al-Mahdi Army, and other out of control Shia militias, in Basra is making progress. Meanwhile the future of Britain's 4,100 soldiers at Basra Airport since September, after they handed over Basra Palace to the Iraqi Army, remains covered in confusion.
When General David Petraeus appeared on Capitol Hill on 8th April, and told his highly attentive audience that while the "surge" had made some advances they were "fragile and reversible", he also spoke of the bitter struggle in Basra. He mentioned the "special groups" Iran has funded and trained in Southern Iraq:-
"Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq."
In front of the three Presidential Candidates, he let it be known that the Iraqi Prime Minister had ordered the assault on Basra against his advice and too quickly. It had also been poorly planned and carried out. His remarks were yet another reminder of the awkward, difficult and frequently strained relations between the weak and unsatisfactory, but properly elected, Iraqi Government and the Coalition forces in that country.
General Petraeus said, in answer to a question about the 1,500 Iraqi personnel who were described as running away from the conflict, that they mainly came from the militia-affiliated police. Some of those who deserted fired on Iraqi troops. One newly trained Iraqi military unit had not been up to the job. (One can have some sympathy for young, new, inexperienced soldiers, perhaps Shias, who are ordered to attack well armed Shia Iraqis in the back streets of the port city.)
Without a shadow of doubt the United Kingdom was hugely embarrassed by the outbreak of fighting in Iraq's second city. A Coalition spokesman claimed the Coalition was only given last minute information of the "Iraqi-planned, Iraqi-led and Iraqi-executed operation." British troops had not been patrolling in Basra for many months.
In December Major-General Graham Binns formally handed over Basra Province to Mohammed al-Waili, the unpredictable Governor of Basra. It was the last of the four Southern Provinces to be handed over to the Iraqis. The responsibility for the security of Basra now rested with the Iraqi Army and local police and not the Coalition. Britain had planned to reduce its force down to 2,500, prior to pulling out altogether.
As the Prime Minister's operation in Basra got going RAF bombers flew low over the City and British helicopters supported Iraqi battalions. By the 30th March British artillery units were called upon to 'take out' militia mortars. British infantry also deployed outside their base to set up road blocks.
It became clear that the Iraqi units that the Americans and British had trained were not on top and required further assistance. The Iraqi Prime Minister called on the American forces in Baghdad to come down to Basra to help. An American General called on the Prime Minister, bringing the British Brigadier in Basra. But the Prime Minister decided the Brigadier should remain outside the room! This was humiliating for the British. Since then the Americans have tactfully called upon the British troops to help with house-to-house searches and carry out carefully planned raids on suspected arms caches.
On the 14th April soldiers from the Iraqi Army's 14th Division visited a suspect house in an affluent part of the city. They were fired on by four gunmen and one man was arrested. The others, one of whom was wounded, got away in a vehicle. Inside the house the soldiers discovered a British photojournalist, Richard Butler, who had been kidnapped two months ago. The British Ambassador, Christopher Prentice, praised the "alertness and professionalism" of the Iraqi troops involved.
The offensive against the al-Mahdi Army and the other militias, which for a day or two was ridiculed as a failure in parts of the British media, continues and on 18th April there was a significant amount of fighting in Basra. There is speculation that faced with a Government planned campaign carried out by the Iraqi Army with close support from the powerful Coalition forces, the al-Mahdi Army, the largest militia in the country, will voluntarily disband. Meanwhile the Prime Minister's political standing has increased and Sunni politicians have agreed to rejoin the Government.
The United Kingdom faced with this new situation in Southern Iraq has two main choices. It can add one or two battalion groups to turn its largely token force into a serious fighting force. It will be difficult to find the infantry units. As an alternative, pleading the need to strengthen its presence in Afghanistan, it can follow most other European countries and remove its troops from Iraq. The Cabinet is having trouble deciding which route to go down.
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