Unbelievable that the British govt is still planning to cut the size of the army.
http://www.sundayherald.com/51880 Basra burns
After last week’s confrontation it was difficult to avoid comparisons with Aden, not least the feeling that the garrison in Basra is as over-stretched as the British brigade group was in Aden 38 years ago. Numbering only 8500 soldiers, the British contingent in Iraq has to cover a huge area and it is faced with a thankless task: living among a people who now view them as potential targets.
Increasing the size of the garrison is one option, but with 5000 troops due to be deployed in Afghanistan next spring and the government cutting the entire army back to 102,000, that might be difficult to sustain.
'Amid a barrage of questions, mainly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr Diskin was asked about Iraq. "When you dismantle a system in which there is a despot who controls his people by force, you have chaos. You get what happened in Iraq. I'm not sure we won't miss Saddam," he said.'
An interesting analysis of the current battle raging in Basra between the British-trained Iraqi army and Shiite militia. According to the author the outcome of this battle will decide whether Britain's policy in Basra since the invasion will be judged a success or a miserable failure.
4 comments:
Unbelievable that the British govt is still planning to cut the size of the army.
http://www.sundayherald.com/51880
Basra burns
After last week’s confrontation it was difficult to avoid comparisons with Aden, not least the feeling that the garrison in Basra is as over-stretched as the British brigade group was in Aden 38 years ago. Numbering only 8500 soldiers, the British contingent in Iraq has to cover a huge area and it is faced with a thankless task: living among a people who now view them as potential targets.
Increasing the size of the garrison is one option, but with 5000 troops due to be deployed in Afghanistan next spring and the government cutting the entire army back to 102,000, that might be difficult to sustain.
Here's a counterargument from Simon Jenkins:
The handover they should be talking about in Brighton
The best thing that Blair can do to unite Iraq is to withdraw British troops - and act before next month's referendum
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1579684,00.html
Guardian report today that Israel's Shin Bet Security chief believes Israelis's may come to regret the ousting of Saddam.
Israelis may regret Saddam ousting, says security chief.
'Amid a barrage of questions, mainly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr Diskin was asked about Iraq. "When you dismantle a system in which there is a despot who controls his people by force, you have chaos. You get what happened in Iraq. I'm not sure we won't miss Saddam," he said.'
An interesting analysis of the current battle raging in Basra between the British-trained Iraqi army and Shiite militia. According to the author the outcome of this battle will decide whether Britain's policy in Basra since the invasion will be judged a success or a miserable failure.
Britain does the worrying as the battle for Basra unfolds
The Sunday Times
March 30, 2008
Michael Clarke
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