County soldiers 'provide enduring legacy' in Iraq

The work of Northamptonshire's soldiers, who have been in Basra to mentor, train and advise the Iraqi army, will provide an "enduring legacy" in the war-torn country.

Soldiers from 2 Royal Anglian and 9th/12th Lancers have been living and working alongside the Iraqi Security Forces in the province since May, providing training courses and protection to the country's army.

To read the full article on the Northampton Chronicle and Echo website click here.

We are getting closer to achieving goal - says Hutton

The Defence Secretary John Hutton visited downtown Basra today after visiting Baghdad where he met with Prime Minister Maliki .

During the visit to Basra he commented:

“As my first time in Basra, I was amazed by the sense of optimism as I heard of the tremendous gains made here in the last few months. The local military, police and ordinary citizens made it quite clear they were optimistic the city would not slip back into violence. And the new investment, development and infrastructure improvements I have seen will support this determination."

“It is clear the support of our forces and our role in training the Iraqi Army has been critical in achieving these improvements. Now, we want to focus on training and education to get us closer to our aim of passing full control to the Iraqi authorities."

“We are getting closer to achieving this goal and I hope we can reach the point when we can consider a significant change to our mission here next year."

“This massive progression is due to the efforts of every British service personnel and civilian who has served here, and I am hugely proud of what they have achieved. ”

Hutton pledges changed role in Iraq

Defence Secretary John Hutton has signalled there will be a "fundamental change" in Britain's role in Iraq early next year as he made his first visit to Baghdad.

He held talks with Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki before meeting the small number of UK forces stationed in the Iraqi capital.
Afterwards, he said "significant progress" had been made in Iraq in recent months and security was improving across the country.

"We want, in the first months of next year, to see a fundamental change in our military mission in Iraq, moving towards an increased focus on military training and education as part of a broad-based bilateral partnership," he said.

"We agreed to work together intensively to put in place, by the end of this year, a formal agreement in relation to the status of UK forces in Iraq which will underpin this change."

To read the full report on the Press Association click here.

Iraq Troop Agreement By New Year

The future of British forces in Iraq could be decided by the end of this year.

Speaking after his first visit to the country, the new Defence Secretary John Hutton said the Government and the Iraqis wanted to change the UK's role.

"We want, in the first months of next year, to see a fundamental change in our military mission in Iraq, moving towards an increased focus on military training and education as part of a broad-based bilateral partnership," he said.

"We agreed to work together intensively to put in place, by the end of this year, a formal agreement in relation to the status of UK forces in Iraq which will underpin this change."
After a meeting with Mr Hutton, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said he would appoint a negotiating team to "discuss the future of British forces".

Read the full Sky News report here.

Bill Rammell visit to Basra

Bill Rammell is in Iraq this week, on his first Ministerial visit overseas since taking up his position as Minister to the Middle East last week. His visit follows earlier trips to the region this year by the Foreign Secretary David Miliband in April and Prime Minister Gordon Brown in July.

This visit is an opportunity for Bill Rammell to meet leaders from Iraq's main communities and discuss a wide range of issues affecting both the UK and Iraq. Focus will be given to the present situation in the region and the building of a long term and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

A few days into his visit Bill Rammell commented on the hard work and dedication of HMG staff based in Iraq and the progress being made in the region. He said

`I am really pleased to visit Iraq within my first 10 days in post. Despite ongoing challenges I'm very impressed by the progress being made in Iraq.

To read the full article on the Isria website click here.

Joint foot patrol with the Iraqi army in Basra

The Washington Times ran a picture of Maj. Callum Lane as he glances down the street during a joint foot patrol with the Iraqi army in Basra, Iraq, on Wednesday. The economic crisis has tightened the Pentagon's defense budget.

To read the full article on the Washington Times website click here

Lewis answers Iraqi 999 call

A PETERBOROUGH firefighter has embarked on a mission to help train new firefighters in a country torn apart by war. Twenty-five-year-old Lewis Collins, from Yaxley, is attached to the Royal Air Force.

The Senior Aircraftman, who is based at RAF Honington, is currently in southern Iraq, where his job is to protect RAF planes and personnel and help train new Iraqi firefighters.

RAF firefighters have been working at Basra airfield since 2003, when British military forces started using the site as their main military base in the area.

However, the Ministry of Defence say it is one of the main aims of the current British commander in Basra that the airport will be handed back to full Iraqi control in the next few months.

To do this they need their own skilled fire service, so Lewis and his 15 RAF firefighting colleagues train with the Iraqi firefighters every day in practical exercises on the airfield and theory training.

To read the full article click here for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph

Security Progress in Basra Paves Way for Economic, Social Improvements

After three months commanding Multinational Division Southeast in Iraq, British Royal Marine Maj. Gen. Andy Salmon said he’s struck by progress since the Iraqi Army’s “Charge of the Knights” operation this spring and the way Iraqi security forces have stepped up since securing Basra.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference, Salmon cited low levels of violence, on par with crime and murder rates in Manchester, England, and lower on a per-capita basis than in Washington.

“Overall, there seems to be a spirit of reconciliation and peace in the air here in Basra,” he said. “That’s really constant.”

People express confidence in the Iraqi security forces, who have reciprocated in their approach to the local population, Salmon said. He noted that during the recent Ramadan observance, the security forces sponsored feasts in some of the most socially deprived parts of town.

Meanwhile, other parts of the city hosted a huge Eid celebration to mark the end of Ramadan.

“It was the first time in three years that people were downtown in restaurants, dancing, singing into the early hours with the music and really celebrating with fireworks the festival of Eid,” Salmon said.

The celebrations represent a broader sense of calm in Basra, thanks to “a truly joint coalition effort there” and increasingly capable Iraqi security forces, he said.

Read the full article by Donna Miles on the American Forces Press Service

Spirits rising as our job is almost done

By Paul Bradley

TWO days in to my mini tour of duty in Basra and my perception of things has already changed dramatically.

Before I left I thought the army was engaged in frequent firefights with the enemy.

But since arriving here I have found they have only been in one or two and the base hasn’t been attacked since the beginning of September. There is still a job to be done here by the Fusiliers though, many of them from Birmingham and the West Midlands.

A lot of the time they are waiting to support other operations or to be called out on strikes that target specific threats. The soldiers will tell you they’re bored and counting down the days until they can go home. It’s totally understandable.

They haven’t seen their young children, wives, mums, dads, brothers and sisters for more than four months. The last time they went for a beer with their mates was before they came out on tour in May.

In hot, dusty conditions the soldiers crave a break and a bit of downtime as they are deprived of sleep for up to 36 hours at a time.

They are trained to deal with it but it quite obviously takes its toll by the look on their faces.

But spirits are still high in Basra.

To read more about life in Basra on the Birmingham Mail website click here

Scots push Basra as a land of opportunity

Iraq needs new infrastructure — and can pay for it

FOR most management consultants, the trickiest decision they face is where to have lunch. For Gavin Jones and Adrian Green, things are a bit more complicated. And that includes where to have lunch.

Last week Jones was in Helmand, the Afghan province. A few weeks ago he and Green were in the Iraqi port city of Basra. Their role, and that of their consultancy firm Upper Quartile, is to help set up the post-conflict economic environment in both countries and attract investment.
It may seem a thankless task, but Jones and Green obviously enjoy the challenge and claim that, in Iraq, things have improved a great deal.

“The situation [in Iraq] is very different from nine months ago,” said Jones from the relative safety of Upper Quartile’s offices in Edinburgh. “I am not saying it’s totally safe, but the level of violence has dropped a great deal.”

Read the full article from the Times Online here

Basra secure, British forces say

British commanders in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra hailed the improved security situation as Baghdad said Monday they are no longer needed there.

In an interview with the Times of London published Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said British troops were not needed for security purposes in the south of the country.

"Definitely, the presence of this number of British soldiers is no longer necessary. We thank them for the role they have played, but I think that their stay is not necessary for maintaining security and control," he said.

Meanwhile, British Maj. Gen Andy Salmon praised the Iraqi people and an Iraqi assault in March called Charge of the Knights with bringing security to the port city, the British Ministry of Defense said.

For the full article in the Middle East Times click here

Scots and Iraqi troops band together

SCOTTISH and Iraqi troops have delivered much-needed equipment to three schools in the Abu Al Kasib region of Basra.

British-funded generators, computers and water coolers were delivered by soldiers of 4th Battalion, the Highlanders, the Royal Regiment of Scotland along with 50th Brigade, of the Iraqi army, who they are currently mentoring.

To read the full article on the Press & Journal website click here

Project to improve electricity supplies in Basra

A local company has wrapped up the first stage in a project to improve electricity energy efficiency in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, an official statement said.

“The project has been referred by the reconstruction and services committee in Basra and will be financed through the $100 million grant allocated by the prime minister for the province,” according to a statement released by the Iraqi cabinet’s national center for media and received by Aswat al-Iraq.

To read the full article on Aswat al-Iraq click here

Reporter to discover a soldier's lot in Iraq

ASK the average man on the street about Iraq and he will tell you about kidnapping, suicide bombers and terrorism.

Talk to him for a little longer and he might bring up the tyrant Saddam Hussein, weapons of mass destruction and America’s war for oil.

But rarely are our country’s troops given more than an afterthought as they continue to carry out orders in basic living conditions and soaring temperatures in one of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.

Click here to read Paul Bradley's reports for the Birmingham Mail

Sussex policeman heads to Basra

It may not be everyone's preferred destination but Sussex policeman Alan Costello has moved to Iraq, he’s swapped Friday nights in Brighton for Basra.

As Victoria Heath reports from Meridian TV Alan is offering support to the Iraq security forces on community policing. The challenges that arise from the relocation vary from the heat and flies to the very real possibility of rocket attacks. Scary stuff indeed.

Nevertheless, Alan recognises the importance of his role in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, but is under no illusion that moving Sussex policing to Basra will not solve the inherent problems. Instead, he understands the importance of an Iraqi-led solution supported by the work he and others from our own police service can offer.

To date the project has seen over 1000 Iraqis train in skills relevant to establish a police force and it is thanks to the likes of Alan who you can hear discussing his work here.

Battle for business begins as military hostilities in Iraq take peaceful turn

A fall in the number of attacks across Iraq has emboldened a growing list of companies, including ArcelorMittal, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy, to explore opportunities in the resources-rich country for the first time since the invasion.

Southern Iraq, where British forces have been based since 2003, is an area of particular interest, sitting on one of the world’s biggest oil and gas reserves. It also has a strong industrial and agricultural base and the country’s only port.

To read the full Times article by Deborah Haynes click here

Eid Festival in Basra

Community Policing in Basra

In a move that would have been unthinkable a few months ago, British police officers have been walking the streets of Basra with their Iraqi counterparts.


Following a meeting with Major General Adel of the Iraqi Police Service, Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Cooper and Chief Inspector Alan Costello walked along the banks of the Sha’at Al Arab waterway.



In doing so they demonstrated the development of the Iraqi Police Service in their efforts to increase public and community support.

Iraq participates in trade fair in Greece

Iraq will participate in a trade-industrial fair to be hosted in Greece late this year, according to Iraq’s exporters & importers union chief on Wednesday.

“A delegation will represent Iraq in Exporana Show Athens 2008, the largest diverse industries fair in Greece, where Iraqi industrialists and businessmen will meet with their Greek peers to discuss means to further industrial and trade relations between the two countries,” Thabit al-Baladawi told Aswat al-Iraq.

Read the full story on IraqUpdates

A reassuring presence

Soldiers from the north and north-east are helping to stem the flow of weapons, drugs and people into Iraq from across the Iranian border. Reporter Morag Lindsay and photographer Kami Thomson find out how the Highlanders are helping the Iraqi army.

It looks more like the set of Mad Max than an Army camp. Jagged skeletons of bombed-out warehouses loom out of the dust, framing a tangle of towers, domes and bridges and piles of charred and buckled steel.

Packs of semi-feral dogs roam the barricades, their howls competing with the drone of generators and the frequent calls to prayer from the mosque in nearby Abu al Khasib. Welcome to Camp Craw – home to the Assaye platoon of the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the most southerly base for the Scottish troops tasked with restoring security to Basra.

For the full story click here to go to the Press & Journal website