Brits Leaving Basra Before Job Done - US going To Have To Pick Up Slack
Iraqi soldier at a Basra checkpoint.
Looking for stories everyday I see so much bullcrap coming out of southern Iraq, namely Basra. Now the Brits will be leaving and the US is going to be On-Call in case the Iraqi Security Forces get in a situation they can’t handle.
Time will tell, but methinks the Brits doth leaveth too early. Where the hell is Winston Churchill?
American troops may have to be sent to Basra once British force levels are halved next year, the Army’s senior general in the region has conceded for the first time.
At a ceremony on Sunday, Iraq’s security forces are to assume overall command of Basra for the first time since Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003.
The move, known in military jargon as “going PIC”, which stands for Provincial Iraqi Control, paves the way for UK troop numbers in Iraq’s second city to fall to 2,500 by the spring.
Maj Gen Graham Binns, the commanding officer of forces in south-east Iraq, said that the Iraqi army had been rated capable of imposing order on the city without back-up from UK forces stationed at Basra air station and in Kuwait.
But a severe bout of violence would trigger a call for the fire-power of allies in the US-led coalition.
“We are a coalition and if additional troops are required, they could come from within our reserve or from within the coalition,” Gen Binns said.
“I wouldn’t have recommended bringing down troop numbers to 2,500 if I thought that would happen but you have to lean into this to make progress.”
His comments follow warnings from US officials that a British withdrawal would leave US forces having to intervene in the south, while heavily committed elsewhere in Iraq.
In August, the retired US general, Jack Keane, said: “From a military perspective I know what the commanders are trying to avoid is having to send reinforcements to the south from forces that are needed in the central part of Iraq. That situation could arise if the situation gets worse in Basra, if and when British troops leave.”
The Army has already adopted its post-PIC posture. Preparations for an Iraqi operation early next month to confront Basra’s so-called “irreconcilables” - locals who pose the greatest threat to security - are under way with the UK lined up to provide surveillance, intelligence and aerial support.
Basra is the ninth of Iraq’s 18 provinces to resume responsibility for its own security but the significance of the switch goes beyond symbolism. Key sections of Route Tampa, the main military supply route from Kuwait, run through the province.
The road as well as Basra’s borders with Iran and Kuwait will continue to be secured with British fire-power. A battle group, led by the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, confronts the daily dangers of patrols in the insurgent-rich region.
Since arriving last month, its Mastiff armoured personnel carriers have hit seven roadside bombs. “We’ve got an area the size of the North West of England to protect with 550 men,” said Lt Col Gary Deakin. “We’ll be maintaining security in a patch that includes the combat supply route, Iraq’s only deep-water port and the borders. It’s our area and we’ll do what we can to maintain security in it.”
Maj Tom Perkins, the commander of a 1st Scots detachment in the battle group, said: “There are elements out to take advantage of what might be perceived as a vacuum after the PIC.”
(Telegraph)
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
If you can't handle using your real email address, don't bother posting a comment.
The circle is complete, Britain (formerly Great Britain) is only an empty shell of what it was, and is no longer an ally of any significance in the GWOT. Soon, the Union Jack will become the Union Mohammad, and minarets added to the House of Parliament. Tootle-loo, old chap!
December 14th, 2007 at 8:38 amFigures…………
December 14th, 2007 at 8:52 am“Soon, the Union Jack will become the Union Mohammad”
December 14th, 2007 at 9:00 amThat made me LOL!
So let me see if I have got this right
IF the IA hit a problem they can’t deal with, and IF the British overwatch battalion at Basra airbase isn’t enough to solve the problem, and IF the IA can’t reinforce internally, and IF the UKs spearhead lead element can’t be deployed then US forces MIGHT have to deploy to Basra.
I’ll bet that is at the top of every US Comds list of things to worry about.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:50 amsee you dumbass libs…this is what happnes when you leave something half finished.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:57 pmYes, “Never undertake vast projects with half-vast plans!”
December 17th, 2007 at 1:49 am