British Soldiers Storm Iraqi Jail, Citing Torture

British troops have stormed a police station in southern Basra where it is said that up to one hundred and seventy prisoners were being tortured and were almost certain to be killed. As they left the scene the British troops blew up the police station.

However, the action which has been described as "one of the most significant undertaken by British troops since the 2003 invasion" has immediately been condemned by the Basra City Council who have withdrawn any co-operation with the British Army.

Mohammed al Abadi, head of the city's council, said the raid was provocative and illegal.

Basra police commander Brigadier General Ali Ibrahim also expressed similar views.

"This storming operation is illegal and violates human rights," he said. "We think that what the operation sought to achieve is very simple and could have been settled by Iraqi troops."

The case highlights the difficulty of handing power over to the Iraqis because of the degree to which the Iraqi forces have been infiltrated by insurgents who seem determined to use the forces as a tool in the civil war.

When the combined British and Iraqi force of 1,400 troops gained control of the station, it found the prisoners being held in conditions that a British military spokesman, Maj. Charlie Burbridge, described as “appalling.” More than 100 men were crowded into a single cell, 30 feet by 40 feet, he said, with two open toilets, two sinks and just a few blankets spread over the concrete floor.

A significant number showed signs of torture. Some had crushed hands and feet, Major Burbridge said, while others had cigarette and electrical burns and a significant number had gunshot wounds to their legs and knees.

The fetid dungeon was another example of abuses by the Iraqi security forces. The discovery highlighted the continuing struggle to combat the infiltration of the police and army by militias and criminal elements — even in a Shiite city like Basra, where there has been no sectarian violence.

And, although the Basra Council have condemned the raid, the New York Times are quoting locals who seem pleased that some kind of action has been taken.

“They are like savage dogs that bite when they are hungry,” said one resident, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution. “Their evaluation of guilt or innocence is how much money you can pay.”

Residents said that people were afraid to challenge the officers because they were backed by powerful militia groups, including the Mahdi Army, which is led by the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr, though the extent of his control is unclear.

“Everyone wants to avoid the mouth of the lion,” one resident said. “From this, they became stronger and stronger.”

However, I am genuinely puzzled as to why the British troops then had to destroy the police station. NYT are quoting the reason as "an attempt to remove all traces of the serious crimes unit, Major Burbridge said."

Surely facilities like this are valuable resources and could simply be taken over by more trustworthy Iraqis? The symbolism of destroying it may be very powerful but it does strike me as a tad expensive in a country that we are supposedly reconstructing.

Again and again I come back to the failure of Rumsfeld to use enough troops to impose order. The situation that has developed in the vacuum created by the lack of order is a frightening one and one for which I can see no easy solution.

In southern cities like Basra, dominated by Shiites, the fighting is a combination of battles between rival militias vying for power, warring tribes and organized crime, Major Burbridge said.

“In northern Basra, the fighting is mainly between three warring tribes,” he said. “The death squads are typically related to political manoeuvering and tribal gain. Then there are rogue elements of militias aiming attacks on the multinational forces. You throw all those elements into a melting pot and you get a picture of the complexity of what we are facing.”

Complex indeed. This situation should never have been allowed to develop. And now that it has I am left wondering what our undermanned troops can seriously be expected to do about it. If there aren't enough of them to seriously change the situation and impose order, then I am left wondering what the Hell they are doing there anyway?

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tag: Iraq, Iraq war, British troops, overstretch, "Stay the course", demolitions, Basra