The Daily Telegraph's version of UK withdrawal
British forces useless in Basra, say officials
Tim Shipman in Washington,
Sunday Telegraph
When America's top commanders in Iraq held a conference with their British counterparts recently, Major General Jonathan Shaw - Britain's senior officer in Basra - was quick to share his views on how best to conduct counter-insurgency operations.
For much of the last four years, the Americans in the room would have listened carefully, used to deferring to their British colleagues' long experience in Northern Ireland. This time, however, eyes that would once have been attentive simply rolled.
British troops face angry scenes in Basra, British forces useless in Basra, say officials
On the defensive: British troops face angry scenes in Basra
Few were in the mood for a lecture about British superiority, when they fear that Downing Street's planned pull-out from Basra will squander any progress from their own hard-fought "troop surge" strategy elsewhere.
"It's insufferable for Christ's sake," said one senior figure closely involved in US military planning. "He comes on and he lectures everybody in the room about how to do a counter-insurgency. The guys were just rolling their eyeballs. The notorious Northern Ireland came up again. It's pretty frustrating. It would be okay if he was best in class, but now he's worst in class. Everybody else's area is getting better and his is getting worse."
The meeting, called by General David Petraeus, the senior US officer who has the task of managing the surge, is emblematic of what is fast becoming a minor crisis in Anglo-American military relations.
(Continued here.)
Tim Shipman in Washington,
Sunday Telegraph
When America's top commanders in Iraq held a conference with their British counterparts recently, Major General Jonathan Shaw - Britain's senior officer in Basra - was quick to share his views on how best to conduct counter-insurgency operations.
For much of the last four years, the Americans in the room would have listened carefully, used to deferring to their British colleagues' long experience in Northern Ireland. This time, however, eyes that would once have been attentive simply rolled.
British troops face angry scenes in Basra, British forces useless in Basra, say officials
On the defensive: British troops face angry scenes in Basra
Few were in the mood for a lecture about British superiority, when they fear that Downing Street's planned pull-out from Basra will squander any progress from their own hard-fought "troop surge" strategy elsewhere.
"It's insufferable for Christ's sake," said one senior figure closely involved in US military planning. "He comes on and he lectures everybody in the room about how to do a counter-insurgency. The guys were just rolling their eyeballs. The notorious Northern Ireland came up again. It's pretty frustrating. It would be okay if he was best in class, but now he's worst in class. Everybody else's area is getting better and his is getting worse."
The meeting, called by General David Petraeus, the senior US officer who has the task of managing the surge, is emblematic of what is fast becoming a minor crisis in Anglo-American military relations.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
Today’s UK Independent reports : A surge in violence in Basra has raised the prospect of British troops having to go back into the city if the security situation deteriorates further. [Snip] Southern Iraq, with its lucrative oil wealth, has been the scene of bloody internecine fighting between the Mehdi Army, led by the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Badr Brigade and the Fadhila party. [Snip] The Iraqi commander who has taken over from the British in Basra, General Mohan al-Furayji, had brokered a peace deal between the various Shia factions but, according to sources in the militia, there is rising tension between the groups. [Snip] A Shia politician in Basra said: "I think we know who is ordering these killings. It is a very powerful and well known man, but we are too afraid to say the name in public."
If you read the article there is no mention of Al-Qaeda or insurgents … it’s a Civil War. The US may want to attribute the violence to Iran’s influence, but this is clearly a internal power struggle.
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