Sandstorm blasts UK troops in Kuwait

British troops in Kuwait and Iraq are being blasted by a fierce sandstorm which for the last 48 hours has made their work of bringing UK kit home from Iraq almost impossible.



With winds of over 52mph whipping up the sand in temperatures of 47 degrees, the logistic force, ensuring that six years' worth of combat equipment returns from Iraq in good order, are battling with terrible working conditions, but they are still managing to get some work done.

Private Simon Ameet Limbu says as he takes an hourly atmospheric reading:

"It's like standing in an oven, in a wind tunnel, and on the beach all at the same time."

Private Limbu is a Combat Medical Technician from 4 Medical Regiment based in Aldershot who are manning the medical centre for the Joint Force Logistic Component (JFLogC).

He and others provide the medical care for 500 troops split between Iraq and Kuwait. They are bringing out the remainder of the kit and equipment from Iraq following the end of combat operations in April this year:

"We hear on the news that they are experiencing a heat wave in Britain at 33 degrees. That's nothing! It's hotter than that in the middle of the night here," he added.

"It's tough, but it's not impossible. We get issued top spec goggles that keep the sand out and we're all pretty well acclimatised now. We just work at a pace that suits the heat and take in as much water as possible. The Army have even given me a Camelback drinking system to keep my fluid levels up in the heat of the day."



Captain Ned Brown, a pilot from the Joint Helicopter Force, said it was a tough day to fly in:

"The helicopters are modified to fly in the sand but there comes a point when it just becomes impossible."

He explained that planning ahead can beat the weather:

"We knew it was going to be a tough day weather-wise so we got our business done in a weather window this morning."

Meanwhile troops from the specially deployed Theatre Drawdown Unit continue in their mammoth task of accounting, checking, packing and moving thousands of items of equipment either back to the UK or to Afghanistan. Many of them working in the open.

The storm is forecast to continue for the next few days.

Iraq sets election date of January 2010 - BBC

Iraq will hold a general election on 30 January next year, officials say.

It will be the second time that Iraqis vote for a national parliament since the US-led invasion six years ago.

Correspondents say the election will be a key test for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose allies made big gains in local elections earlier this year.

The last parliamentary vote in December 2005 was largely boycotted by Sunni Arabs, resulting in an easy victory for Shia parties and Kurdish groups.

The office of Iraq's first deputy parliamentary speaker said the date was proposed by the country's federal court and must now be agreed by parliament, Reuters news agency reports.

The decision to hold the election comes after allies of Prime Minister Maliki, under the State of Law Coalition banner, won a resounding victory in the 31 January provincial vote, giving the premier a popular mandate.

Ready to Roll - Soldier Magazine

THE end of Operation Telic presents the British Army’s logistics experts with an interesting challenge.

After six years of ferrying troops, equipment and supplies into Iraq, the Royal Logistic Corps now has to perform an about turn and transport the accumulated kit back out of the country.

It is a mammoth undertaking, but the movement experts have an ace up their sleeve in the form of the Visibility and Transit Aspect Logging (VITAL) system.

By placing small GPS transmitters inside every container heading out of Basra, the logisticians are able to continuously track each item from the moment it leaves Iraq to the time it reaches its final destination.

The system has been implemented by Capt Tim Walvin (RLC) who told Soldier that it will prove indispensable in ensuring nothing gets lost in transit.

“Before anything leaves, we barcode the items and can then track them on their way to whichever depot they are going to,” he explained, adding that similar operations in Bosnia and Kosovo carried out before the system was in place took significantly longer and required many more people to be involved. “That links in with the Total Asset Visibility brick [the GPS transmitter].

“It’s massively important. As nice as it would be to up sticks, gun everything into an ISO container and do a runner, I know as a supplier that it has to be unpacked at the other end.

“If things go missing it takes money out of the pot and this system means we can avoid that. The technology gives us total visibility and it gives people confidence because they know where their key assets are.”

Unsurprisingly for soldiers serving on such an historic tour, the Telic experience of the 20th Armoured Brigade troops serving with 1 (UK) Logistic Battalion has been unlike that of their colleagues on previous deployments.

Knowing that they would be at the very least partially responsible for returning the Army’s equipment to British bases and operational theatres around the world, 1 (UK) Log Bn began to size up their task soon after arriving in theatre.

An initial scout around the Contingency Operating Base (COB) and other locations in Basra province revealed around 5,000 containers which the loggies had to open and record the contents of.

The drawing-down of kit has been an ongoing process ever since, with more than 20,000 different types of equipment ranging from socks to engines needing to be removed from theatre.

The figures for Operation Pike – the road convoy between Kuwait and Basra – tell their own story.

In comparison to previous tours when the amount brought into the COB far exceeded that taken out, Telic 13 has seen the loggies remove more than they received.

Since arriving in theatre in December, the soldiers have overseen the dispatch of 5.5 million tonnes of supplies to be returned to depots in Britain and abroad or disposed of locally compared to the 4.3 million tonnes they have received.

The monthly totals for goods in and out have also shifted dramatically as the tour has progressed. While a total of 100,000kg of items headed each way in December, the monthly figure now stands at around 40,000kg entering the COB and as much as 500,000kg leaving it.

Take into account the mind-boggling numbers involved elsewhere in the supply chain for Op Pike alone – the 102 convoys on Op Telic 13 have covered 219,319km and transported 5.4 million litres of fuel – and it is hard not to admire the work ethic of the Army’s logistics experts.

They have also taken on responsibility for developing the Iraqi Army’s 14th Division’s logistics capability, working alongside the Middle Eastern soldiers at Shaibah.
Maj Steve Mellor (RLC), who spent much of the tour mentoring the Iraqis, said the host nation’s soldiers had been willing learners.

“They have a bit of work to do on their tactical awareness, but that will come with time,” he said. “Their ability is good and there’s a quiet confidence within the division. We have also helped them to develop their command structure and that has been particularly evident over the last three months.”

While other soldiers may have had a slower-paced final Telic compared to their previous experiences, the tour has been a true test of the mettle of everyone working in logistics.

But when the final ISO container loaded with British kit is sent on its way home, the specialists will be able to reflect on having played a part in a truly unique operation.

“We have had a successful five months of getting stuff out of here,” said SSgt Dougie Hollowell (RLC). “We knew the plug was being pulled [on Telic] so we have worked hard throughout.

“This is unlike previous ops so we are writing the textbook when it comes to logistics. There are a lot of new areas for us to learn and times have really never been busier.”

Are Muslim radicals trying to provoke a civil war in Britain?

Posted By: Con Coughlin

The shameful protests by a group of Muslim extremists demonstrating against the return of British soldiers serving in Basra are wrong on so many levels.Let's set aside for the moment the gross insult of those who claim to be British citizens hurling abuse at those who have risked their lives to defend our liberties.

The Muslims who shouted abuse at the homecoming march by 2nd Battalion, the Royal Anglican Regiment, such as "Baby Killers" and "Terrorists" forget that they would not enjoy this right if it were not for the bravery of the British service men and women who fight to protect the British way of life.

Certainly such freedoms would not exist if the Muslim radicals demonstrating yesterday had their way and created an Islamic state in Britain, where public demonstrations of dissent would be punishable by death.Nor do the Muslim demonstrators seem to have no understanding of what British forces are doing in Basra.

They are not there to murder innocent women and children - they are there to protect innocent Iraqi civilians from extremist Muslim groups that want to take over the country and crush Iraq's attempts to establish itself as a functioning, Western-style democracy.

I don't think we have much difficulty in deciding which side those demonstrating in Luton yesterday support. Whether in Britain or Iraq, Muslim extremists are viscerally opposed to the Western way of life and, even though they have more than happy to enjoy its benefits - particularly the generous welfare hand-outs and the benefits of free speech and the rule of law.

One of the more heartening aspects of yesterday's events was the way the overwhelming majority of patriotic British citizens who had turned out to welcome the Anglians back from their arduous tour of duty turned on the Muslim agitators - who in another age would be locked up as posing a threat to national security.But there are risks in this.

We already know that British-based Muslim extremists are equipping, funding and supporting the Taliban in their attempts to kill British soldiers in southern Afghanistan. But we do not want the civil war that is currently being fought in the desert wastes of Helmand between British Muslims and the British Armed Forces to spill over onto the streets of Britain.

'Thousands Of Troops To Pull Out Of Iraq' - Sky

Around 12,000 American troops will pull out of Iraq by September in what is being seen as an acceleration of the US withdrawal.

US military spokesman Major General David Perkins said the move will reduce America's combat power from 14 brigades to 12 brigades.

He also said the US is handing over more facilities to the Iraqi military as part of the withdrawal.
President Barack Obama has decided to remove all combat troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010, with all troops gone by the end of 2011.

But up to now, details of withdrawals have remained sketchy.

"Two brigade combat teams who were scheduled to redeploy in the next six months, along with enabling forces such as logistics, engineers and intelligence, will not be replaced," the US military said.

There are currently about 135,000 US troops in Iraq, down from 156,000 last June.
Meanwhile, the remaining 4,000 UK troops there will withdraw from the country by July this year, Iraqi officials have said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Iraq in December and announced the troops would leave by the end of July.

But he added their mission would already be complete "by the end of May, or earlier".
On January 1 this year, British forces handed over control of Basra airport, its main military base in the south, to Iraqi officials.

British troops withdrew from Basra city last September and since then, they have been training the Iraqi army.

After British troops leave, a small contingent of military advisers is likely to stay on in Iraq.

Iraq - so was it worth it? - Telegraph

They were on the verge of humiliation – but now British troops believe they can depart southern Iraq with their mission accomplished. Sean Rayment goes to Basra to assess their legacy.

On a balmy spring evening in early May 2007, a small and isolated British outpost in the centre of Basra was attacked by more than 200 insurgents. The militiamen – followers of the Iranian-backed Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr – had a simple plan: kill all of the 40 soldiers inside the base.

Had it been successful, the attack would have amounted to "strategic failure" for Britain in Iraq, and a retreat from the country would have been inevitable.

For more than four hours, the troops inside the Provincial Joint Coordination Centre (PJCC) fought off wave after wave of attack. Those inside the base later said that the British machine-gun barrels had glowed red after firing more than 9,000 rounds and killing dozens of insurgents.

Although the attack failed, it signalled to the British that the militias had the capability to plan, mount and launch large-scale operations without their knowledge. It was also the first real sign that the Iraqi Army would struggle to control the streets once the British had gone.

Most of the insurgents who took part in that attack almost two years ago came from the Hyaniyah area of Basra, one of the most deprived parts of the city.

But much has changed in Basra in the past 18 months, especially in the Hyaniyah. Where once street battles were fought, today British soldiers are working hand-in-glove with their Iraqi colleagues, opening schools and developing strategies for clearing rubbish. The troops are regarded as heroes and liberators and are greeted with smiles and handshakes from Iraqi civilians.

The transition is, according to both Iraqis and the British, nothing short of stunning. In some areas of the city, the property market is soaring, with some exclusive homes costing $400,000. One local businessman has built a hotel costing $15 million. There are even plans to create the city's first casino.

Major General Andy Salmon, the Commander of the Multinational Division in Basra, believes the war was worth the sacrifice of the 179 British servicemen and women who have so far died fighting in Iraq. He also believes it is now time for the British military to return home.

Maj Gen Salmon, a Royal Marine, has been involved in operations in Iraq for the past 18 years. He will be the last senior British officer to command in southern Iraq.

At the end of March, the long-awaited withdrawal will begin and an estimated 2,500 US troops will replace the British inside the Contingency Operating Base (COB), to be renamed Camp Charlie. By the end of July, virtually all British troops will have pulled out.

"It is a case of mission accomplished," Maj Gen Salmon told The Sunday Telegraph. "The Iraqis now effectively run their own affairs. They control the streets, and the militias have more or less been defeated."

He believes that, with the right investment, Basra could become a major international city, like Dubai. "It's close to Iraq's only deep-water port, it sits at the top of the Persian Gulf, and it has a rail link which extends to the Turkish border, so it's knocking on the door of the EU. I'm very confident that in 10, maybe 20 years' time, this place will be transformed – and a large part of that is down to the British troops who served here.

"We have achieved what we set out to do. We have got the Iraqi 14 Division up and running to manage security by itself. We have handed over Basra International Airport. We have created a secure and stable environment for social and political development to take place.

"Everyone should be rightly proud of what has been achieved. There have been ups and downs but that is the same in any campaign. There is still a lot of work to help investment to take place, and we need to help British investors to get in. The sacrifices of our mates have not been in vain, so in that respect it has been worth it."

But when the last soldier flies out of Basra for the final time, others will question that assessment.

The Iraq War not only divided the nation, it also soured relations with Britain's European allies. The conflict lasted longer than the Second World War, cost the taxpayer in the region of £8 billion and tarnished Tony Blair's legacy; it showed that the US-led coalition had the power to topple a dictatorship but that it lacked the foresight to plan for a lasting peace. It exposed failings in the highest levels of military planning, and the battle for Basra almost left the British armed forces humiliated.

So as the 4,100-strong British force prepares to leave, what is Britain's legacy in southern Iraq?

In 2003, following the Coalition invasion, a region centred on Basra came under British control. Initial joy among the local Shia population at the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime turned to frustration and, on occasion, to violence.

In August 2007, Basra Palace, the British Army's last base in the city, was given up to Iraqi provincial control and the British withdrew to the Contingency Operating Base six miles from the city. The ceremony was sombre. Many British troops had died in the weeks leading up to the handover as the militias, most notably the Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) led by al-Sadr, fought to seize control of the city.

The controversial pull-out was the end to a politically motivated mission to get British troops out of Iraq as quickly as possible. While the plan looked good on paper, the reality was different.

Within weeks of the British handover, the Iraqi Army in Basra had lost control of the streets – a devastating blow for the British generals who had planned on the assumption that it was a competent fighting force. In Baghdad, American officers accused the British of jeopardising the security of southern Iraq; it was the British Army's lowest point in the entire campaign.

Basra descended into chaos, intimidation and murder were rife, women were executed for merely looking "too western", and the COB faced rocket and mortar attacks almost hourly.

Britain had once prided itself on its counter-insurgency strategy, but the failure to defeat the militias in Basra forced British generals to accept that the lessons they had learnt after 30 years of fighting in Ulster were no longer relevant.

The militias' rule lasted until March 2008 when Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi president, ordered his army to retake the city in "Operation Charge of the Knights". After a series of false starts, the militias were eventually forced out in May last year.

Today, Basra and southern Iraq are both relatively stable. The "monopoly of violence", according to Maj Gen Salmon, is now in the hands of the Iraqi Army.

One of the most competent officers in the Iraqi army is Colonel Khalid, the commander of 26th Brigade's 3rd battalion. The word among the British is that nothing happens on his patch without his knowledge or approval. Colonel Khalid is charged with the responsibility of controlling the Hyaniyah.

Home to around 600,000 people, this former militia stronghold is one of the most impoverished and densely populated areas in the whole of Basra, built by Saddam Hussein to house tens of thousands of Marsh Arabs "cleansed" from their historical home along the Shatt al-Arab. Today, it languishes at the bottom end of Third World poverty. Here, flocks of sheep feed off rubbish piles, unemployment stands at around 40 per cent, and the stench from open sewers, where bare-footed children play, hangs in the air.

"Today, the Hyaniyah is safe," Colonel Khalid told The Sunday Telegraph. "The insurgents have gone. They know that we will arrest them or kill them if they return. Some have been killed, others arrested and some have gone to Iran. The people here do not want them any more."

After the "Charge of the Knights", the British Army returned to Basra to work alongside the Iraqi army in Military Transition Teams (Mitts). Their role is to gently advise the Iraqi army on how to win the consent of the people. Around 850 British troops are still involved in "Mitting" around Basra, but as each day passes the role of the British diminishes.

When Brigadier General Sabah, the commander of 26 Brigade, opened the new Haleema Al Saadeyah school last Saturday, he was greeted by several hundred schoolgirls all screaming "Viva Iraq! Viva Iraq!". The adulation he and his men received is yet further proof of the trust the Iraqi public now has in its army. Once an ill-disciplined and incompetent rabble, today it is a confident and professional force, which has the support of around 97 per cent of the population.

Brig Sabah says he is grateful for the help from the British and for "the sacrifices of your soldiers". But, he says, the time has now come to leave.

"We no longer need any help from anyone. We are not ungrateful, we are thankful to our friends who released us from Saddam's prison. Your sacrifices and our sacrifices have helped us to get to where we are now. But now we can run Basra. We control Basra now."

Despite the optimism, the city's future remains uncertain. There is real concern in and around Basra that the insurgents could profit from growing discontent over the lack of jobs, especially among young males.

On Leaf Island, which lies to the north-west of Basra, Sabbah, a 22-year-old fisherman, complains about the lack of work.

"It is good that the militias have gone. But I have no work – neither do any of my brothers or their friends. If we don't get work soon, the militias will return and they will say 'Come and work for us, we will pay you', and some of the young men will go."

While troops in Basra prepare for the final withdrawal from Iraq, the nation's military chiefs are now focused on an even greater challenge: Afghanistan. The Iraq War and the conflict in Afghanistan are often grouped together but remain very different problems. It is difficult to draw lessons from the Iraq campaign that might also be relevant in Afghanistan because the countries and the insurgencies are vastly different. But one of the reasons why Britain almost lost the Battle of Basra was because there were too few troops on the streets.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said last week that the war in Afghanistan was "not a numbers game". Well, commanders in Iraq disagree. Just about all the senior British officers in Iraq to whom I spoke agreed that more troops needed to be sent to Helmand to ensure that the mistakes made in Iraq should not be repeated in Afghanistan.

Iraq Has Changed for the Better - Al Hayat

John Hutton Al-Hayat
Earlier this month I attended the Regional Security Summit in Bahrain. The Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq , Dr Barham Saleh, was among the speakers. He spoke well. He talked about how an Iraq, growing in confidence, is looking to engage with its neighbours as a positive force in the region. To use his words an Iraq "at peace with itself and its neighbours".

I could not help thinking of this when reading Sir Cyril Townsend's recent piece for Dar Al Hayat in which it is suggested that the British mission in Iraq has failed. That analysis is simply wrong. Saddam Hussein's regime, which we and our coalition allies overthrew, not only suppressed and murdered the people of Iraq .

It presented a threat to the whole region - a region crucial to British interests. Its definition of engaging with its neighbours was to intimidate, bully, even invade them. It was not interested in being part of the international community. It sought confrontation not cooperation.

The decision to go to war against Saddam Hussein's regime was one I supported at the time and will continue to defend. The region is a safer place for the removal of Saddam. We should be proud of the part our forces have played in achieving this, and in helping to get the Iraqis to a stage where they are nearly ready to take on full responsibility for their own security in southern Iraq without our help.

As the Prime Minister announced yesterday, our Mission in Iraq will change next year to one focused on specialist training in a few areas. That will allow our forces to reduce from 4100 to around 400 by the end of July. As we reach this point it is not surprising that commentators are analyzing what our forces have achieved over the past six years. They have achieved much, as I saw for myself when I was able to walk around Three Mile Market in Basra with Iraqi forces and our soldiers who are training them a few weeks ago.

The reason we are redeploying our forces is simple: because our mission is on the verge of completion. By the time our troops withdraw, our job will, without question, be done. And if it was not, we wouldn't be going. Iraq today is a nation that has been changed for the better because the coalition wide plans for transition have worked. Plans which over a period of time placed the Iraqis in the lead in ensuring their own security.

The scale of the challenge in Basra has been daunting. We never claimed that we alone could solve the problems of a city neglected for decades by Saddam. But by helping the Iraqis find Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems, our Forces have achieved their aims. The Iraqis are now close to the point where they will no longer need our help apart from in a few niche areas like helping the Iraqi Navy.

As Dr Saleh put it, "Today Iraqi soldiers and police are initiating and leading operations across Iraq and are gaining the trust and support of the population." That was always where we were trying to get to. We have never abandoned the Iraqis or barricaded ourselves in our bases. We have been there alongside them offering support and advice.

During Operation Charge of the Knights, when Iraqi forces confronted and comprehensively defeated the militias in Basra last April, we were with them providing air support, artillery, medical treatment, logistics and a lot more. Basra is not perfect. Thirty per cent of Basrawis still do not have access to piped water. But compare that to the situation we discovered on coming into Basra in 2003.

Then, 77 per cent of the population faced that situation. There have also been huge improvements in power supply, hospitals and medical care, nutrition, school attendance and, of course, democracy. It is because we - working in partnership with the Iraqis we have mentored and our US and other allies- have been so successful in turning around the security situation over the past six years, that attention is now focussed on problems like water and electricity supply, litter in the streets and traffic congestion.

Security now ranks fifteenth is people's list of concerns. A place where people are thinking about such everyday matters is a place where people are not living in fear of being blown up - or, for that matter, being persecuted by their own government. It is because of the long-term peace secured by those who have fought and died in Iraq that we are now seeing the sort of continuing development that will improve the standard of living of all Iraqis: building infrastructure, supporting businesses, developing key industries such as agriculture and energy, and growing the economy.

As the military mission ends, the challenge now is to ensure that the business and reconstruction mission is every bit as successful. There are great opportunities for British investment and I hope we take them. For the first time in living memory, Iraqi people can now start to benefit collectively from their country's wealth and resources, rather than see the revenue creamed off and squandered by a corrupt regime. If that is not an achievement, then I do not know what is.

See the article on Al Hayat click here

Sovereign at last - Times

As the Iraqi Government takes over control of the capital, the US readiness to learn from past mistakes is rapidly leading to a more normal country

The formal handover yesterday to Iraqi control of the green zone, the fortified centre of Baghdad, is a defining moment in the long and bloody struggle to bring order and stability to a country wrecked by thirty years of dictatorship and five years of internecine violence. To Iraqis, to Americans and to a sceptical Muslim world, it symbolises a welcome restoration of sovereignty, a recognition of the huge progress made in recent months and a confirmation that democracy is, at last, taking root.

At an emotional ceremony to mark the raising of the Iraqi flag over the entrance to the former palace of Saddam Hussein, Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, declared that the day marked “the beginning of the process to retrieve every inch of our nation's soil”. He is right. And he is right to be proud. Few would have predicted even two years ago that Iraq would overcome the violent sectarian confrontations or that it had any viable future as a unitary state. According to official Health Ministry figures, 16,232 Iraqis were killed in 2007. Last year that total had dropped to 5,379 - less than a third, although still an average of nearly 15 people a day.

The comprehensive military agreement with America, ratified by the Iraqi parliament in November, does more than simply hand over control of the capital's security to the Iraqi Army. It also lays down a timetable for the US troop withdrawal, revokes their power to detain Iraqis without an Iraqi warrant, and subjects contractors and off-duty US soldiers to Iraqi law. Taken together, the measures underline that, from the beginning of this year, the 146,000-strong US force operates in Iraq under the authority of the Baghdad Government and no longer because of the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation. This is of huge psychological importance in restoring national pride, in normalising Iraq's relationships with the US and other Western countries to whom it exports oil and in demolishing al-Qaeda's portrayal of the Iraqi Government as a puppet of Washington.

The handover of the green zone coincides with the expiry of the UN resolution, passed months after the invasion, legitimising US troops in Iraq. That applied equally to the British and the few other remaining forces. Yesterday Britain therefore also surrendered to the Iraqi Transport Ministry control of Basra airport, and a similar handover ceremony was held near to the base where the remaining 4,100 British troops await their final evacuation in July. A handful will stay on as military advisers, and a larger contingent of Americans will also continue to train and advise the Iraqi military. Indeed, the US will withdraw from its present checkpoint duties only gradually, in co-ordination with the Iraqis taking over. This makes political and operational sense.

To those who criticised the US forces' ineptitude, ignorance and naivety that marked the first years of occupation, it may be hard to admit that life has improved so noticeably thanks largely to the American readiness to learn from mistakes. Recent strategy, tactics and local understanding have gone a long way in removing grievances, winning tribal support and isolating the terrorists posing as champions of national liberation.

It is too early, however, to expect recognition or gratitude from most Iraqis. The mood was well symbolised by the journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush. Iraqis will be scarred for years by the terrorism, violence and sectarian hatred that has killed thousands and driven hundreds of thousands into exile. Most people will feel safer and happier only when the bombings cease, the electricity is constant and normal life returns to the streets. Since yesterday, however, they control all Baghdad's streets. The end of Iraq's agony is now in sight.

See the full article on the Timesonline

Iraq signs military accords with Britain, Australia - AFP

Baghdad signed on Tuesday military accords with Britain and Australia that give their troops a legal basis to stay in Iraq after the expiry of the UN mandate on December 31, the Iraqi government said.

"With the authority of the government of Iraq given to the defence minister, an agreement was signed with Britain today which will be implemented from the start of the new year until June 30," defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.

"A little while ago an agreement was also signed regarding the withdrawal of the Australian forces in Iraq. It was signed between the Iraqi defence minister and the Australian ambassador," Askari said.

The long-awaited agreements come just a day ahead of the expiry of the UN mandate, effectively legalising the presence of non-US foreign troops in the country at the eleventh hour and moving Iraq closer to full sovereignty.

Under the agreement, Britain, which has about 4,100 troops based at Basra airport in southern Iraq, will play only a supportive role in their area.

"British troops will only support, consolidate and develop the Iraqi security forces without having any combat mission. July 31 will be the last day for the withdrawal of the British forces from Iraq," Askari said.

Iraqi defence minister Abdel Qader Mohammed Jassem Obeidi signed the separate accords with British ambassador Christopher Prentice and Australian ambassador Robert Tyson.

During a visit to Iraq on December 17, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki announced the end of the mission of the British contingent by the end of May 2009, and a total withdrawal by end July 2009.

After British troops leave next year, relations between London and Baghdad will in theory revert to those between any other country.

Read the full article on the AFP website

Iraq and UK agree to let troops stay until July - Reuters

Iraq signed agreements with Britain and Australia on Tuesday for their troops to stay in Iraq for seven months after a U.N. mandate authorizing their presence expires on January 1, Iraq's Defense Ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the agreements would take effect on New Year's Day and would require the two countries' combat troops to leave Iraq by the end of July.

Britain has 4,100 troops stationed in Iraq, near the southern oil center of Basra. Australia has 300 troops.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Baghdad said: "I can confirm that we've signed an agreement which gives us all the necessary legal cover that we needed to complete our tasks here."

An Australian embassy official was not able to comment.

Iraq's Presidency Council on Sunday ratified a measure agreed by parliament allowing troops from Britain, Australia, El Salvador, Romania and Estonia and the NATO alliance to stay in Iraq until July 2009.

Bilateral agreements between Iraq and each country still needed to be finalized.

Britain, which sent 46,000 troops to the Gulf as the main U.S. ally in the 2003 invasion, intends to keep about 400 advisers and trainers in the country after the July deadline.

Askari said deals would be signed in the next few days with diplomats from other countries with small numbers of troops in the U.S.-led force in Iraq.

(Reporting by Wisam Mohammed and Peter Graff; writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

Click here for the Reuters website

Iraq signs foreign troops deals BBC

Iraq has signed deals with Britain and Australia for their troops to stay in the country after a UN mandate expires on 1 January, Iraq's government says.

It says the accords authorise UK and Australian forces to stay until July.

Britain has 4,100 troops based in the southern city of Basra, while Australia has 1,000 soldiers also in the south.

The US - who led the 2003 invasion into Iraq - earlier this year signed a deal with Baghdad allowing its 140,000 forces to stay until the end of 2011.

Apart from the US, UK and Australia, the only countries continuing to provide troops for the Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) are El Salvador, Estonia and Romania.

Iraqi Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said on Tuesday that separate deal with those countries would be signed in the next few days.

See the article on the BBC website

Expiry of UN mandate major step to Iraqi sovereignty - ABC News

Change is coming...a member of the British army climbs on an oil pipe in Basra, 2005. (AFP: Toby Melville)

A newly assertive and somewhat safer Iraq takes a major step towards securing full sovereignty on January 1, when a UN mandate that made legal the presence of foreign troops expires.

The end of the UN mandate put in place soon after the March 2003 US-led invasion means Iraq will take greater control of its own security although foreign forces will remain in the country under separate bilateral agreements.

"The main difference is that UNAMI will increasingly and gradually expect Iraqi security forces to provide security, as in any other sovereign country," Staffan de Mistura, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) envoy, said.

The United States, which supplies 95 per cent of foreign troops in Iraq, recently signed an accord with the Iraqi government which allows its combat forces to remain in the country until the end of 2011.

The Iraqi parliament voted last week also to allow the presence of non-US foreign troops after the UN mandate expiry until no later than July 31, 2009, although it will have to sign each agreement individually.

Iraq's presidency endorsed the proposal on Sunday (local time), clearing the way for Baghdad to sign accords with Britain, Australia, Romania, Estonia and NATO before midnight on December 31, when the UN mandate expires.

El Salvador announced earlier this month that it would withdraw its 200 soldiers at the end of 2008, although the El Salvadoran minister of defence visited Iraq on Sunday to discuss an extension at the request of the Iraqis.

Britain, the next largest member of the US-led coalition, has about 4,100 troops based mainly in Basra in the south, while the other members have only a few soldiers each stationed in Iraq.

"We will first exchange letters then sign agreements," National Security advisor to Iraq's Prime Minister Mowaffak al-Rubaie said, without providing further details.

Under the terms of forces agreement signed with Washington, the United States will hand over on January 1, Saddam Hussein's former official residence to the Iraqi government after occupying the majestic sandstone palace since 2003.

The vast palace, at the very heart of the heavily fortified Green Zone where the Iraqi government and some major western countries' embassies are located, is seen by Iraqis as a symbol of the US occupation.

"Starting January 1, the control and the responsibility for security of the International Zone now resides with the government of Iraq," US military spokesman Major General David Perkins said.

"So they will be the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to things such as checkpoints and the T-walls and all that. Of course it will be done in very close coordination with the coalition forces," Major General Perkins added.

See the full article on ABC.net.au here

Iraq allows British, other foreign troops to stay - CNN

The Iraqi Presidency Council approved a resolution Sunday that will allow non-U.S. foreign troops to remain in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year's end.

It was the last step for final adoption of the resolution, which won parliamentary approval Tuesday.

Iraq's main political parties hammered out the resolution a week ago, after an impasse among parliamentary factions threatened to continue beyond the December 31 deadline.

A separate, previously approved agreement authorizes U.S. troops to remain.
Britain has about 4,100 troops in Iraq, the second-largest contingent after the United States, which has about 142,500. Other countries covered under the resolution -- El Salvador, Australia, Romania and Estonia -- have a total of several hundred troops in the country.

See the full report on CNN here

Iraq allows British troops to stay - Reuters

Iraq's parliament approved a measure on Tuesday that clears the way for troops from Britain, Australia and a handful of other nations to stay in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year's end, a senior lawmaker said.

A vote on the measure was delayed for several days by squabbling in the parliament, whose speaker resigned just before Tuesday's vote after angering some politicians with his brash style and insults in a session last week.

"We authorize the government to take all necessary steps regarding foreign forces other than U.S. forces," said deputy parliamentary speaker Khalid al-Attiya. He said the measure approved would allow the troops to stay in Iraq through the end of July 2009.

Forces from Britain, Australia, El Salvador, Romania and Estonia and NATO have been awaiting a new arrangement to legalize their presence in Iraq after the U.N. mandate expires in little over a week.

Lawmakers said the resolution empowered the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to strike a deal with these countries permitting their troops to stay, without that deal having to go back to parliament for further scrutiny.

"What happened today is parliament giving its authorization to the government to make such a deal," legislator Jaber Habeeb Jaber told Reuters.

He added parliament could do this because the likely agreement sought by the government would be a memorandum of understanding rather than a full blown pact or treaty.

For the full article click here for the Reuters website

Iraq: after Basra, a new reality - Telegraph

By Thomas Harding

Better times have arrived in the Iraqi city - but the battle for Basra holds vital lessons for the British Army.

Tearing through Basra in the back of an Iraqi army pick-up truck last week, with no body armour and no British soldiers nearby, it struck me as the most foolish thing I had done in five years of covering southern Iraq.

On every previous visit – and I have made a score or more – it would have been evidence of a death wish to set out without a troop of heavily armoured vehicles, and a platoon of heavily armed soldiers, for company.
But even a few minutes into the drive to downtown Basra, the change in atmosphere was tangible. No longer was there a wince of fear on hearing the detonation of a bomb, or while contemplating where precisely incoming shells would land.

This week, Defence Secretary John Hutton confirmed that the situation in Iraq was “infinitely better” than a year ago, and that most of our 4,100 troops will be home by the end of June. There is, in other words, a sense that our time in the country is drawing to a close – hence the Conservatives’ renewed demand for a full inquiry into the war, once our withdrawal is complete.

So what has happened to bring a rapid end to a mission that was only recently bogged down in a quagmire of insurgency? Amid the drama of Afghanistan, the transformation of Iraq’s second city, which was given to the British to protect and administer after the fall of Saddam Hussein, has gone largely unnoticed. But it is a remarkable one.

“The highlight for me has been going into a mosque in Basra at 10pm with no body armour or pistol, when previously I’d have needed a whole battlegroup of Warriors and Challenger tanks,” Lt Col Simon Browne, whose 2006 tour with the 2nd Bn The Royal Anglians saw some of the worst urban fighting, told me. “Basra is a different city.”

For the full article click here for the Telegraph.co.uk

British troops to withdraw from Iraq by June - Telegraph.co.uk

The withdrawal of the 4,000 British troops in Iraq will be completed by next June, a senior defence source has disclosed.

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent

The Prime Minister is expected to make an announcement in the New Year laying out the timetable for the pull out after more than six years in the country.

While a replacement brigade of another 4,000 troops is already training to replace the current force, no decision has been made yet on whether any elements will be sent to Afghanistan.

But it is understood that the fleet of half a dozen medium list Merlin helicopters and a number of reconnaissance drones will be sent to help the fourth in Helmand almost immediately.

With the Americans formulating their final exit plans with the Iraqi Government, that will be finalised once the President-elect, Barack Obama, takes power, the British are expected to conclude the final state of their forces in Iraq in the coming weeks.

It is expected that a number of troops will remain to continue the "Sandhurst in the desert training" of Iraqi officers and a few hundred Royal Navy personnel to mentor Iraqi sailors in the port south of Basra.

The first changeover of troops is expected to begin when the headquarters of an American division headed by a two-star general takes over from the British at Basra airbase in March.

It is expected to be followed by an American brigade that will help continue training Iraqi forces and will secure the US withdrawal route south into Kuwait.

The British army's 20 Brigade has just arrived in Basra and will be the last sizeable force to deploy to Iraq with their six month tour ending at the beginning of June unless there is a major decline in security.

Much of the withdrawal strategy depends on whether the Iraqi provincial elections go off peacefully on January 31. If they do the British pull-out could happen quickly.

"The withdrawal will be a very gradual thing and then a very steep thing," the defence force said.

In the last eight months Basra city has dramatically stabilised after the Iraqi army proved it could hold its own during the Charge of the Knights Operation in which with British and American help it stamped out the insurgents.

Read the full article on the Telegraph.co.uk

Britain and Iraq to sign security pact

London has affirmed that a comprehensive agreement with Baghdad is at hand similar to the US-Iraq security pact and the framework agreement.

It has announced that London plans to withdraw British troops from Iraq and keep a specified number of troops to train Iraqi Forces, British Cabinet John Wilkes said. In a phone conversation with Al Sabah Newspaper from his headquarters in London, he affirmed that the British Cabinet is negotiating with Iraqi Government to hold a bilateral agreement similar to US-Iraq security pact.

Wilkes added that Baghdad and London will end negotiations on the agreement within the coming days stressing on the necessity of the pact since UN expires at the end of the coming month. He noted that British officials especially Prime Minister Gordon Brown expect a serious change on the presence of UK troops in Iraq in anticipation to shifting the military presence into a civil role and developing relations in economic, educational, industrial, cultural and investment fields.

According to Wilkes, upon the request of the Iraqi Government, a limited number of UK troops will remain in Iraq to train and rehabilitate the Iraqi Army 14th Division in Basra as well as to upgrade the Navy in Southern Iraq affirming at the same time that London needs a legal coverage to stay in Iraq in line with normal bilateral relations.

As for the number of troops remaining in Iraq, British Cabinet spokesman said there is no definite number yet noting that London expects a major drop in the number of UK troops. He asserted as well that the pact with Baghdad will not be passed to the British Parliament and there is no need to vote on it especially that it will be concluded between the Iraqi and British Governments paving the way for a new phase of relations.

Read the article on Alsumaria here

War in Iraq ends for international forces - Times Online

President Bush's “coalition of the willing” is set to all but disappear from Iraq by the end of the year, with 13 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Moldova and Tonga preparing to withdraw their few remaining troops.

Britain, Australia, Romania, Estonia and El Salvador are the only nations, apart from the US, that plan to remain after a UN mandate authorising their presence expires on December 31.

London must still reach an agreement with Baghdad, however, to keep its 4,100-strong contingent on the ground into the new year. Failure to do so in time would leave British troops without legal cover and they too would have to leave.

“We are going to say farewell to 13 different nations in the space of two and a half weeks,” said Brigadier-General Nicolas Matern, a deputy commander for Multi-National Corps Iraq, which oversees the US military's coalition partners.

“We started off with 35 countries but it has steadily been going down ... As from December it is going to go all the way down,” he told The Times.

Read the full article on the Times website here

Brits hand operation center over to Iraqis

British military forces handed over control of a $2.3 million joint military operations command center in Basra to their Iraqi counterparts.

A joint provincial operations center was established at the Shatt al-Arab hotel, which houses the main operations center in Basra.

British military forces are deployed in Basra as part of Operation Telic in support of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. There are around 4,000 British troops stationed there, down from 18,000 in 2003.

Control over the command center was attended by top Iraqi, British and U.S. military commanders. Iraqi Maj. Gen. Mohammed Jowad Hameidi said the relative calm in the vital port city was important to the national reconstruction effort.

For the full story click here to see the Middle East Times

Basra's streets once ran with blood. Now they bustle with shoppers

By Ian Kirby (words) & Brian Roberts (pictures), 16/11/2008

THE constant blip, blip of a checkout scanner heralds big change at the al-Ameray supermarket on Basra’s main market street, as young Iraqis snap up nappies, magazines, ready meals and the latest perfumes.

Five months ago this street was shuttered and empty, the silence broken only by the whoosh of rocket-propelled grenades and the clatter of an AK47 assault rifle. But today business is booming.

'We'll beat Dubai!' brags Uday"

Read the full story on the News of The World website