State of emergency in Basra threatens British withdrawal

The newly formed Iraqi government have declared a state of emergency in Basra after one of the most violent months since the US/UK invasion.

This is the first time a state of emergency has been called in Iraq and is said to seriously undermine the British governments plans to hand over control of parts of Basra to the the Iraqis next month.

British officials stressed that the declaration of a state of emergency meant a change in the Iraqi government's policy towards Basra, not a change in the situation on the ground.

But with the first withdrawals scheduled for the summer from two provinces in the south, it seems likely that Britain's plans to pull out troops could be affected by the newly announced state of emergency.

Tony Blair has consistently linked a troop pull-out to better conditions on the ground, and the readiness of the Iraqi police and army to take over from the foreign forces.

But the bomb attacks and a helicopter crash that left nine Britons dead have underlined the deterioration in relations between the local Iraqi population and the British forces. When the helicopter crashed in Basra on 6 May, probably after being shot by a rocket-propelled grenade,Iraqis rushed into the streets to celebrate the troops' misfortune, sparking several hours of clashes as the locals hurled stones and petrol bombs at the British soldiers.

The British government have long hailed the "relative peace" in Basra as an indication of the superiority of UK forces in "people handling" and an example of the skills learned during the long years of struggle in Northern Ireland.

However, the very fact that Basra is now slipping out of control could also be taken as an indication of just how long we have overstayed our welcome.

I can think of no nation on Earth that would enjoy the experience of a foreign occupation. Nor do I, along with most of the planet, see any positive intent on the part of the US and UK to bring this occupation to an end.

Bush and Blair continue, as they have for the past three years, to talk meaningless waffle about future withdrawal without setting any date in the foreseeable future for that withdrawal.

However, when even normally peaceful cities like Basra begin to revolt, one must seriously consider the practicality of the US/UK position.

The conundrum is that Blair only wants to hand over when stability has been achieved. I would argue that our very prescence in Iraq has started to become the problem and a major issue in undermining that stability.

There is never going to be an easy or a clean way to leave Iraq.

Bush and Blair continue to seek an exit that will somehow vindicate their decision to invade. No such exit is possible.

The fact that we exit Iraq is more important than the manner of our exit.

We are simply not welcome anymore. It is time Bush and Blair realised this.

Click title for full article.

Tags: Iraq, Basra, state of emergency,