Opinion - Editorials   

Brown and Iraq

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown could only have been claiming victory and leaving the field before the end of the game when he aired an assessment that Iraqi forces were ready to take control of southern Iraq. The whole world knows that the indigenous military and police forces are pathetically under-equipped and ill-trained to prevail over the militias that are itching to go against one another. As in other regions dominated by Shias, the Jaish-e-Mahdi led by the fire brand cleric Moqtada al Sadr and the Iran-backed Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council have fought each other in the past and might do so again once the buffer provided by foreign troops is removed. That fighting did not flare up as the British withdrew from three southern provinces is no guarantee that peace will prevail once Basra, the last of four southern provinces to be free from foreign occupation, is ‘handed over’ to Iraqis. During his recent visit to the area, Mr. Brown confirmed that 500 of the 5,000 soldiers his government has deployed will be withdrawn by the middle of December 2007; another 2,000 are scheduled to depart by the spring of 2008. The remainder will be stationed outside populated areas and will re-enter towns and villages only if Iraqi troops are unable to maintain order. The reality is that the British army knew 18 months ago that Iraq was a lost cause. Under these circumstances, it would appear that the main mandate of the contingent being left behind would be to guard the lines of communication to Kuwait. This will be the main exit route for the occupation forces if and when the United States eventually comes to its senses.

There has been a reduction in the incidence of violence across Iraq over the past six months. The induction of an additional 20,000 U.S. troops from around March 2007 was only one of the factors that contributed to this. Attacks on civilians and the occupation forces decreased on account of two other factors as well. Iraqi Sunnis turned their guns on foreign jihadists and the Jaish-e-Mahdi decided to observe a six-month ceasefire from September. However, even U.S. commanders concede that the relative lull might not continue for long. The underlying political causes for conflict between the Iraqi communities have not been addressed. The government of Nouri al Maliki shows no signs of moving towards the objectives the occupation powers have set. A law providing for the fair distribution of oil revenues has not been enacted, the de-Ba’athification process has not been reversed, and provincial elections have not been held. The invasion and occupation of Iraq have proved catastrophic in every respect.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Brown and Iraq
First decisive step
Russia on the road to modernisation
Modi versus the rest in Gujarat
Corrections and clarifications
Horn of Africa remains a powder keg
World Bank urges Israel to ease Palestinian blockade
Advani at the helm
Judicial restraint
School violence

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu