US AND THEM: US, UN & Iraq, version 8.0

Bollocks, the message was for public consumption.

Premature and unwarranted triumphalism.

"Is any country allowed to arrest military troops that are in their country if they break the laws of the country they stay in?"

some might argue that they are there illegally in the first place.

Will we leave?

Yes, when a stable and secure Iraqi government does exactly what we want over oil.

When will that be? Not for a long time. If we left now, the Iraqi government we installed would last for somewhere between a month and a day.

pump it in an ever increasing volume and sell it in dollars.

In a statement on Tuesday, the commander of the British 12th Mechanized Brigade in Basra, Brig. John Lorimer, said the Iraqi interior minister had personally ordered the release of the British soldiers on Monday but that his order "seems to have been ignored."

However, Haidar al-Ebadi, spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said the police had been right to arrest the soldiers and denied that the Interior Ministry had ordered their release. The soldiers were arrested, he added, because they "had been acting suspiciously in civilian clothes without adequate papers."

"For two guys to be collecting information in civilian clothes in the current tense situation in Iraq and in Basra, the reaction of the Iraqi police is understandable," he said. "It was a very unfortunate development that British soldiers should try to release their soldiers the way it happened."

Hours after those comments, Mr. Jaafari's office issued a statement saying there was no "crisis" between Iraq and the British military.

Reuters reported that video of the soldiers taken while they were in jail showed them "unshaven and looking nervous as police looked over wigs, Arab headdresses, antitank missiles and electronic equipment, all apparently used in their mission."

Under fire: British soldiers attacked in Basra
Army used tanks and helicopters to storm jail and free captured troops, say Iraqis
By Terri Judd and Colin Brown
Published: 20 September 2005
British troops were struggling to maintain control in Basra last night after the city exploded into bloody violence following the alleged killing of an Iraqi policeman by a British soldier.

Two British servicemen, dressed in civilian clothes, were held at Basra's main police station after the incident. Outside, rioting began as the city threatened to descend into anarchy.

Last night, British forces used up to 10 tanks - supported by helicopters - to smash through the walls of the jail and free the two British servicemen. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, later confirmed they were back with UK forces.

Around 150 prisoners were said to have escaped during the assault, which was condemned as "barbaric, savage and irresponsible" by Mohammed al-Waili, the provincial governor. But the Ministry of Defence disputed the claim, saying that the release of the soldiers had been "negotiated".

British troops had surrounded the police station after the soldiers, alleged to be undercover commandos, had been arrested for failing to stop at an Iraqi police checkpoint, according to one report. Within minutes an angry crowd gathered and troops had to flee from blazing Warrior vehicles when the mob threw petrol bombs. A soldier could be seen scrambling for his life from a burning vehicle. The MoD said three British soldiers were injured.

The anarchy that the arrests provoked provided the most graphic example yet that the British-patrolled southern sector of Iraq is descending into turmoil after a period of relative calm. Two Iraqis were said to have died in the violence and 15 were injured.

A senior army official denied that the situation was chaotic, insisting that yesterday's events were just a "bump in the road". But the images of street warfare prompted senior politicians to renew pressure on Tony Blair to pull British troops out of Iraq.

The Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Sir Menzies Campbell, said: "If these events reflect a breakdown in the relationship between the civilian authorities and the British military, then they are very worrying indeed. These events underline the need for a coherent exit strategy of British forces from Iraq."

Military insiders said that the rioting had nothing to do with the two servicemen but was fuelled by the arrests by British forces of members of the Army of Mehdi, the insurgent force headed by the radical Shia cleric Muqtadaal-Sadr, after the recent attacks on British forces. The arrested men included Sheikh Ahmad Majid al-Fartusi, the Basra area commander, and his aide Sajjat al-Basri. Some 200 members of the group staged a show of force on Sunday, blocking roads in the city centre and demanding their release.

British forces have refused to release the detainees, insisting that the Iraqi police service had been prevented from bringing them to justice by "people who clearly oppose law and order".

The local police force has long been rumoured to have been infiltrated by members of the militia. There have been repeated protests in Basra over the past few weeks against the British presence, but one official admitted: "We have seen nothing on this scale."

A senior military figure said: "We need to keep a sense of perspective. There has been an increased attempt by them to disturb things ahead of [the constitutional referendum on] 15 October. Where is the surprise in that? We have responded by arresting some of their people.

"There has been a bit of a backlash, which we are more than capable of handling. Basra is not descending into chaos. Five, six or 10 petrol bombs does not a crisis make. It is just a road bump."

Mr Blair, who spent last night at Chequers, was kept informed about events. There are growing concerns within the Government that Britain is being sucked into its own Vietnam.

Calling for Mr Blair to set an exit date, Labour MPs said the scenes from Basra had echoes of the killing of two British soldiers who were murdered by a mob in Northern Ireland during the Troubles after driving into a republican funeral cortège in March 1988.

Clare Short, the former international development secretary, who resigned over the war, said: "We should negotiate an end to the occupation. They are all saying 'no' because it's such a mess we cannot leave now. But the occupation is the major problem now.

But Mr Reid said: "We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security. The situation in Basra is calmer after a day of disturbances. At this stage it is not possible to be certain why these disturbances began. Many of those present were clearly prepared well in advance to cause trouble."

Asked about how the men were freed, an MoD spokesman said: "We have not had confirmation of the full details of this."

British troops were struggling to maintain control in Basra last night after the city exploded into bloody violence following the alleged killing of an Iraqi policeman by a British soldier.

Two British servicemen, dressed in civilian clothes, were held at Basra's main police station after the incident. Outside, rioting began as the city threatened to descend into anarchy.

Last night, British forces used up to 10 tanks - supported by helicopters - to smash through the walls of the jail and free the two British servicemen. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, later confirmed they were back with UK forces.

Around 150 prisoners were said to have escaped during the assault, which was condemned as "barbaric, savage and irresponsible" by Mohammed al-Waili, the provincial governor. But the Ministry of Defence disputed the claim, saying that the release of the soldiers had been "negotiated".

British troops had surrounded the police station after the soldiers, alleged to be undercover commandos, had been arrested for failing to stop at an Iraqi police checkpoint, according to one report. Within minutes an angry crowd gathered and troops had to flee from blazing Warrior vehicles when the mob threw petrol bombs. A soldier could be seen scrambling for his life from a burning vehicle. The MoD said three British soldiers were injured.

The anarchy that the arrests provoked provided the most graphic example yet that the British-patrolled southern sector of Iraq is descending into turmoil after a period of relative calm. Two Iraqis were said to have died in the violence and 15 were injured.

A senior army official denied that the situation was chaotic, insisting that yesterday's events were just a "bump in the road". But the images of street warfare prompted senior politicians to renew pressure on Tony Blair to pull British troops out of Iraq.

The Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Sir Menzies Campbell, said: "If these events reflect a breakdown in the relationship between the civilian authorities and the British military, then they are very worrying indeed. These events underline the need for a coherent exit strategy of British forces from Iraq."

Military insiders said that the rioting had nothing to do with the two servicemen but was fuelled by the arrests by British forces of members of the Army of Mehdi, the insurgent force headed by the radical Shia cleric Muqtadaal-Sadr, after the recent attacks on British forces. The arrested men included Sheikh Ahmad Majid al-Fartusi, the Basra area commander, and his aide Sajjat al-Basri. Some 200 members of the group staged a show of force on Sunday, blocking roads in the city centre and demanding their release.
British forces have refused to release the detainees, insisting that the Iraqi police service had been prevented from bringing them to justice by "people who clearly oppose law and order".

The local police force has long been rumoured to have been infiltrated by members of the militia. There have been repeated protests in Basra over the past few weeks against the British presence, but one official admitted: "We have seen nothing on this scale."

A senior military figure said: "We need to keep a sense of perspective. There has been an increased attempt by them to disturb things ahead of [the constitutional referendum on] 15 October. Where is the surprise in that? We have responded by arresting some of their people.

"There has been a bit of a backlash, which we are more than capable of handling. Basra is not descending into chaos. Five, six or 10 petrol bombs does not a crisis make. It is just a road bump."

Mr Blair, who spent last night at Chequers, was kept informed about events. There are growing concerns within the Government that Britain is being sucked into its own Vietnam.

Calling for Mr Blair to set an exit date, Labour MPs said the scenes from Basra had echoes of the killing of two British soldiers who were murdered by a mob in Northern Ireland during the Troubles after driving into a republican funeral cortège in March 1988.

Clare Short, the former international development secretary, who resigned over the war, said: "We should negotiate an end to the occupation. They are all saying 'no' because it's such a mess we cannot leave now. But the occupation is the major problem now.

But Mr Reid said: "We remain committed to helping the Iraqi government for as long as they judge that a coalition presence is necessary to provide security. The situation in Basra is calmer after a day of disturbances. At this stage it is not possible to be certain why these disturbances began. Many of those present were clearly prepared well in advance to cause trouble."

Asked about how the men were freed, an MoD spokesman said: "We have not had confirmation of the full details of this."

Iraqi police protest British raid
Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:58 AM ET



By Alaa Habib

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi police staged an angry anti-British protest in Basra on Wednesday as London and Baghdad sought to quell tension over a British raid to free soldiers held by militiamen in the southern city.

About 200 policemen who work at the police station damaged during the British raid marched through the streets, calling for the city police chief to be fired and for the "British terrorists" to be returned to Iraqi jurisdiction.

The Iraqi government said in a statement there was no crisis with Britain, but senior Iraqi officials have castigated the raid, with Basra province governor calling it a "barbaric act".

"Both governments are in close contact, and an inquiry will be conducted by the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior into the incident," a statement from Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's office said. It also urged calm on all sides.

Jaafari, returning from New York, was due to meet British Defense Secretary John Reid in London at around 1300 GMT (0900 EDT).

Reid, under pressure at home over the deployment of 8,500 troops in Iraq and facing calls for a withdrawal timetable, told a British newspaper Britain would not "cut and run".

The diplomatic hitch follows a raid by British forces to free two undercover soldiers who were detained by Iraqi security forces in Basra following a firefight on Monday.

In the raid, British armored vehicles crushed the walls of an Iraqi jail before troops rescued the men from a militia group said by the British to have gained custody of them from police.

But Iraq's interior minister disputed the British military's account. Bayan Jabor told the BBC the men had never left police custody or the jail in Basra and were not handed to militants.

Basra, a mainly Shi'ite Muslim city, has experienced a surge in militia activity over the past nine months, with armed Shi'ite factions vying for influence in the security forces and the local council.

The militias are also believed to have carried out attacks on British troops, three of whom have been killed by roadside bombs this month, and on journalists exposing their activities.

Iraqi authorities admitted that insurgents had infiltrated the police and other security forces in Basra and elsewhere.

"Our Iraqi security forces in general, and these in particular and in many parts of Iraq, I have to admit that they have been penetrated by some of the insurgents," National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told the BBC on Tuesday.

He said he did not know the extent of the infiltration, but said new procedures were in place to get rid of bad apples.

INFILTRATION

British commander Colonel Bill Dunham, chief of staff for multinational forces in Basra, also pointed to security force infiltration as a major problem. "It is something that affects the Iraqi police across Iraq as a whole," he told BBC Radio.

"We are aware of rogue elements in the Iraqi police service. The trick that we have to pull off now with the Iraqi authorities is to identify those elements, to weed them out and to reinforce the good parts of the Iraqi police service."

Britain has spent the past 2-1/2 years securing Basra and building up its security forces in the expectation that Iraqi forces could take over and allow British troops to withdraw.

The acknowledgement that more than two years' work has essentially failed to produce a functioning police force is likely to provoke anger among Iraqis, whose chief concern has always been security and who want foreign troops to leave.