You British should be proud for giving our children a future - The Sun

From OLIVER HARVEY in Iraq

THEY are laughing families enjoying fairground rides and ice creams in a scene familiar to millions of us.

But this is war-ravaged Basra in Iraq, which until last year was one of the most violent places on Earth. Where a bloody insurgency once raged, shoppers now pack the pavement cafes and busy souks overlooking the River Euphrates.

Like many here, dad-of-three Mohammed Qassim, 35, credits British forces with achieving this cherished new peace. Tucking into buffalo liver at a floating restaurant on the nearby Shatt al-Arab waterway, he insisted: “I say to British soldiers and their families, ‘Many, many thanks. You should be very proud, you have given our children a future’.”

Speaking over George Michael’s Careless Whisper playing on the restaurant stereo, the executive with Al-Mirbad radio, who earns £540 a month, added: “No one wanted foreign forces to come here — we are a proud people.

“But it was the only way we could get rid of Saddam Hussein. We now have democracy and no one can tell the people who will be their leader.”

Seven miles from the river, across a windswept plain of salt flats and oil slicks, is Basra airport, where Britain’s combat troops are packing their kits ready to come home.

RAF padre John Ellis, 45, spends a quiet moment reading the 179 British names engraved on polished brass plaques on a memorial wall.

A Union flag flutters over the red brick wall which bears the quotation from The Bible: “Honourable age does not depend on length of days, nor is the number of years a true measure of life.”

The squadron leader with 903 Expeditionary Air Wing told me: “Many of us here have friends’ names displayed here.”

Pointing towards polished brass plaques, John said: “I knew him... I knew him... and I knew him. Memories have been made here and people want to keep hold of those memories.”

Nodding towards Basra’s gleaming international airport, revamped with British military know-how, he added: “People want to leave well — and acknowledge things have been achieved.”
British forces rolled into Basra in April 2003, greeted by rapturous cheers from some locals.
This mainly Shiite Muslim city had long been a target for Sunni dictator Saddam’s repression.

UK troops then fought against a bloody Iranian-backed insurgency and their roadside bombs.
In March last year the Iraqi army — backed by British and US forces — launched an operation to smash the militias.

Since then there has been an uneasy calm in Basra, though some parts of Iraq continue to come under attack by insurgents, as yesterday’s suicide bombings show.

But university lecturer Dr Juliana Dawood Jousif, 52, told me that, despite the carnage: “The war was worth it. We would never have got rid of Saddam’s regime otherwise.

“I appreciate the British Army changed the lives of many Iraqis for the better.

“It’s sad these people had to come to Basra and lose their lives for something they aren’t responsible for.”

Youth worker Shatha Ibrahim, 32, helps local school leavers find work training schemes. She said: “If you disagreed with Saddam, you were not safe. His guys would follow you until you were dead. Then, under the militias, women were not leaving our homes much.

“In the street and in the markets they would tell us to wear the veil and not to wear make-up or jeans. Now we have picnics by the river and we can wear whatever we want.”

Today there is a housing boom in this battle-scarred city. One home recently sold for 500,000 dollars (around £340,000).

The markets, including the Al Fursi tented souk, are bustling.

Women — most in black hijab headscarf and flowing dishdasha robes — were happy to be photographed as they picked up bargain tight blue jeans and lingerie.

A new five-star hotel will open in the next few months as Western businesses look to invest. British tourists have even returned to this battered city of more than a million people.

But retired archaeologist Bridget Jones, 77, from London, who visited recently, conceded: “It wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.”

Since 2003 UK taxpayers have pumped £740million into reconstruction and development here. Critics say some of the cash poured into the city was frittered away by corruption.

Mother-of-two Dr Jousif continued: “Corruption here is rife and needs to be tackled. What we need in Basra now is big foreign companies to invest in electricity, sewerage and roads.”

Despite sitting on some of the world’s most abundant oil reserves, the city is still impoverished. Unemployment is 30 per cent, the canals are clogged with fetid raw sewage, electricity is in short supply and few have drinkable running water.

Yet natural gas worth £28million a day is simply burned off because Iraqi firms do not have the technology to tap it.

Development Secretary Douglas Alexander told The Sun: “There is still work to be done but real improvements are being made to electricity supplies, to water supplies and the sewage system.”
Families who fled Iraq during the bloody turmoil are now coming home.

Barber Mozed Muyad, 38, escaped to Sweden after religious fanatics among the militias began butchering hairdressers. One barber was killed with electric drills because the fanatics believe shaving beards to be un-Islamic.

Mozed has been able to re-start his business, hiring two workers, thanks to a business loan from the coalition’s Provincial Reconstruction Team. The barber, who earns up to £80 a day, revealed: “I had to run because they had killed a barber friend of mine. Now I’ve got more than enough work and want to expand again.”

The Department for International Development has earmarked more than £1.3million for a further 1,200 business start-ups.

For 4,100 British troops, combat operations end in a few weeks. A small force will remain to train the Iraqi army and navy. Locals insist our troops should receive a heroes’ welcome on their return to the UK.

The turbaned imam at the sprawling Moosawi Mosque in Basra’s centre hit out at last month’s protests by extremists in Luton who labelled British troops the “butchers of Basra”.
Standing beside the vast domes of the mosque which can hold 11,000 worshippers, Abdul Al Moosawi, 49, said: “We appreciate the sacrifice British troops made in bringing democracy to our country.

“Saddam had a sick mind but the British and Americans changed the regime for good.
“I thank the parents of these soldiers for the sacrifice their children made and ask God to send their souls to paradise.”

The plaques to the fallen at Basra airport will be dismantled and rebuilt among the tranquillity of the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffs.

And their courage will never be forgotten among the smiling families at the funfair in Basra.

'We've made a big difference'

AS THE conflict in Iraq draws to a close, Plymouth soldiers are counting the days until they will be reunited with their family and friends.

City troops arriving in Basra in 2003 were generally welcomed to the city by locals with open arms, celebrating the imminent downfall of long-standing oppressive president Saddam Hussein.

In the following years, however, many British lives were lost in fierce fighting in the city, as organised insurgent groups such as the Mehdi Army launched a barrage of attacks.

Patrolling soldiers were at best stoned by locals – and at worst forced to engage in frantic firefights. Most of those who have served on four tours speak of missing fallen friends and colleagues.

But the Charge of the Knights operation in March last year, an Iraqi Army-led military operation aimed at rooting out extremists, was a turning point for the country and local lads are now looking forward to leaving Iraq for the final time.

For Whitleigh man Corporal Steven Stringer, the priority is getting back to his five children at his family home near Paderborn, Germany, where his battalion, 5 Rifles, is based.

The 36-year-old has missed numerous birthdays and other milestones since arriving in Basra for his second tour.

"Spending Christmas and New Year away from my family was tough," Cpl Stringer says from the back of a Warrior on the way to a training exercise. "It's been a long old stretch out here and I'm looking forward to getting back."

Rifleman Karl Bennett, from Ivybridge, will be moving into a new house when he touches down on UK soil again in May.

The 23-year-old, a former pupil of Stowford Primary School and St Boniface's Catholic College, is proud at how things have changed in Iraq since he was last there just over two years ago.

"It's improved amazingly," he says. "Compared to what it was like in 2006 it's come on dramatically.

"Things have moved on and it's only getting better. We've done what we came here to do, but I'm looking forward to getting back to Plymouth."

Rfn Bennett is one of dozens of Plymouth soldiers to have lost friends in the war, but he says he's convinced the most important thing is the welfare of the Iraqi people.

"Obviously there have been deaths and without a doubt that's the worst thing for anyone," he reflects.

"The families I feel for still to this day: but, in general, I think the Iraqi public thinks we've done a good job. It's good to see and it's good to leave with a good, positive attitude."

Serjeant Karl Dobson has seen Operation Telic from start to finish.

The 29-year-old, from Saltash, vividly remembers spending two months living off ration packs in the back of a cramped and unbearably hot Warrior armoured vehicle with seven other soldiers during the 2003 invasion.

"I just remember it all being so fast," he recalls.

"When we got here we were greeted with handshakes and open arms – but then Iraq went through its darker periods. They didn't want us here at all.

"There were a few hairy moments: but coming back here you can see the difference that the British have made with regards to the Government, the police, their army – and what a difference six years makes.

"I can confidently stand here and say the police and their army are 100 per cent better than what it was.

"I believe the British have done a good job and it will be good to know that we've started something and we're going to finish it."

Passionate about his job commanding a Warrior, Sjt Dobson is nonetheless looking forward to returning to Saltash to see his mum, dad and brother.

By the time he leaves at the end of May, he will have spent a total of more than two years in Basra.

"I believe we came here for a reason," he adds. "We've done what we came here to do.

"I've seen it from the start, through the bad times, to the end state and it's time to go. We're going home, and I'm happy knowing that."

Young Rifleman Craig Ruff, 19, from the city centre, says he's enjoyed his first tour to Iraq – but is eager to test his skills in Afghanistan.

"At this point, though, I'm really looking forward to going back and seeing my family and friends," he says.

"You train and you want to do what you train for – it's your job – but obviously it's a great thing that the fighting's coming to an end."

Tomorrow: How the Battalion's soldiers have been working with locals in Iraq to help them rebuild their lives.

Permission granted for tourist project in Basra - Aswat al-Iraq

An Iraqi Company with a Kuwaiti partner, supported by international consultant firms, was granted permission to start a tourist compound at the coasts of Shatt al-Arab waterway at a total cost of $107 million, the director of Basra’s investment commission said on Monday.

“The project consists of two stages, and will be finalized within five years,” Dr. Hayder Ali told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“It would occupy an area of 158 donums (One Iraqi donum equals 2500 square meters),” he said.

Bath soldier looks forward to Afghanistan stint

A soldier from Bath says he is looking forward to serving in one of the most inhospitable regimes in the world.

Nineteen-year-old Nicholas Addey is coming to the end of a tour of duty in Basra, where he says his rifle company's stint has been "quiet".

But as he and thousands of British soldiers prepare to lead the drawdown of forces from Iraq, another country is already firmly in the minds and on the lips of men serving in 5th Battalion The Rifles (5 Rifles) - Afghanistan.

Although some of the 600 troops serving with 5 Rifles at Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra have experienced a total of four tours, in 2003, 2004, 2006 and the present one, for many of the younger troops such as Rifleman Addey, their current deployment is their first.

And perhaps surprisingly, when asked about the future, the men eagerly talk about their hopes, and not fears, of serving in Asia.

The battalion, equipped with the formidable Warrior Armoured Vehicle, has a tour booked in 2011, and although there's no guarantee, the men are fully aware it is more than likely they will be deployed to the war-torn country.

The soldiers are now weeks away from the end of their current stint - with most scheduled to leave early to mid May - after Major General Andy Salmon, head of coalition forces, stood down and handed over military command to the US Army last month.

Maj Gen Salmon's consensus that the British Army is leaving Basra a much safer and optimistic place is shared by the 5 Rifles troops.

Rfn Addey, is out on his first tour, after arriving last December.

Rfn Addey, who will return to the battalion's base in Paderborn in Germany, said: "This has been a quiet first tour. There's been no contact with the enemy."

Rfn Addey, who was recently engaged to Trisha Hazell, 18, said it was the lack of action that has set his mind on fighting in Afghanistan in two years' time.

He said: "I joined because I wanted to fight, I wanted to make people proud, I wanted to be on the front line.

"The training we've done - we've not used it all on this tour. People join the Army for those reasons."

One of 5 Rifles' principle tasks in Basra is to provide protection on the base and assistance to the Iraqi Security Forces in Basra City when required - or as many of them like to dub themselves, they are "the insurance policy".

But they have not been called into the city once on this tour, and indirect fire on the COB is unusual these days - there have been only five attacks in the past eight months, compared to 28 in March 2008.

Military reconstruction solves fishy problem in Iraq

British Military reconstruction and development teams are building a modern fish market in a small town in Iraq called Al Qurnah, where the staple food is fish. The town is well known for its biblical tourist attraction - a lone dead tree which is supposedly the tree of life from the Garden of Eden.

Basra reaps rewards of British troops' presence - Mirror

By Rupert Hamer

A YEAR AGO, WOMEN IN BASRA WERE KILLED JUST FOR WEARING MAKE-UP. AS OUR TROOPS PREPARE TO PULL OUT AT LAST, IT'S A CASE OF..

Sitting on a swing in the cool night air of Basra, 14-year-old Asha reveals the dream she shares with many girls her age around the world... she wants to be a model.

Just 12 months ago it would have been an impossible, even fatal ambition in a city where Muslim militias executed women for daring to wear make-up or jeans.

But as British troops prepare to pull out of Iraq's second city, things are very different.

Asha says: "For a whole year I could not go to school. It was too dangerous. We lived opposite an Iraqi police station and later in the occupation there was shooting there all the time.

"Now I am back at school. It is peaceful. When I leave I want to be a model. It is something I have always wanted. And now maybe I will have a chance." Her mother Noor, 45, who works for a mobile phone company, recalls with a shudder the year of hell when Basra was under militia control before the Iraqi army regained control with the help of Coalition troops.

She says: "They killed one woman for wearing make-up.

Women were being shot just because they wore jeans." Three years ago I walked round Basra Five Mile Market surrounded by heavily-armed British soldiers.

At the time, I asked my interpreter how long I would last there on my own. He looked at me, smiled shyly and replied: "Two minutes." This week, as I step out of an Iraqi army armoured vehicle at the same spot, I experience a bizarre feeling.

Instead of a platoon of British infantrymen, I have just a handful of escorts wearing berets, their rifles slung carelessly at their sides.

And in place of angry young men with eyes full of hatred, photographer Phil Coburn and I are offered endless glasses of heavily-sugared "chi" as we stroll around the market. The stench of open sewers has been replaced by the fragrant smell of spices and cooking.

Phil and I are beckoned into the shop of shoe-seller Abad Ali Sadam, a 31-year-old father of three. "It has been hard," he says, before gesturing to his packed stalls.

"Once, this place was burnt down, destroyed by the fighting. People were fleeing Basra. But now they are back and we are free. I can buy a car, own my own house, walk with my children. Before, this would have been a dream."

Further on in the market, as his 10-year-old daughter Rogna shyly curls herself around his leg, building contractor Mashtak Gabar, 40, says: "Just coming here was impossible. Then the Iraqi army drove away the militiamen and now life is good. My children can go to school again and there is more money. Just being able to come here with my children, being free to walk around as a family is amazing to us." In 2003 British troops were greet- ed with flowers as they ousted Saddam Hussein's hated regime in Iraq's second city.

But as the Coalition's "peace" plan faltered, flowers Team... gave way to bricks, then bullets, and finally by the roadside bombs that killed so many of our 179 fallen troops. By late 2007 Basra was in the grip of Muslim hardliners led by the Shia firebrand Muqtadr Al Sadr. With mounting casualties, our city bases surrounded and too few troops to retake the city, the

British Army retreated. Many lost faith in the our troops because we left them at the mercy of the militias.

Iraqis were plunged into & Brit what the present British Consul General in Basra Nigel Haywood admits was a "nightmarish" existence. As well as the women murdered for breaking hardline dress codes, barbers were executed just for cutting men's beards. But that all ended a year ago when, on the orders of US commanders, a division of newly-trained Iraqi troops retook Basra.

And now the city can breathe again. Businesses driven away by violence are beginning to return. There are even six off-licences - just a year ago selling alcohol could lead to execution by the miltias.

Today, as we visit the city's picturesque Lebanon's Play Park, the sight of women laughing and joking with their husbands and children is the lasting legacy.

For 4,000 British troops, the change is welcome. When British combat operations officially end here in a few weeks, they can go home.

Major Mark Marshall, 35, who was in Basra in 2004, during some of the fiercest fighting, says: "Then we were getting 100 attacks a day Now we are down to virtually none." Trooper Danny Perrott of the Queen's Royal Hussars, who first came here three years ago, said: "It was incredibly tense in 2006.

Everyone seemed more hostile. But this tour is different. The locals are far calmer, more friendly.

"They wave and give us the thumbs up. Roads are being built and gradually the city is being redeveloped. In 10 years I think Basra will be like Kuwait City. We've done our job. Now it's time to go home."

Iraq To Start Drilling At Shared Field With Kuwait

Iraq will commence drilling for oil at a field shared with Kuwait although the lack of an agreement outlining investment in equally owned fields, according to sources. In the weeks before the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Baghdad blamed the nation of stealing billions of dollars worth of oil from its fields through horizontal drilling. Kuwait denied the charge.

"The oil minister visited Safwan oilfield and inaugurated the installment of many rigs, which are due to start drilling in a few days," oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.

Several fields overlap the border, including the Rumaila South field and also the Safwan and Zubair fields.

During a visit to the joint border fields, Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani said that until an agreement is entered with Kuwait, Iraq will drill additional wells in the region, his spokesman said.

"We will start drilling more wells in the border field of Safwan to make the most of crude available to raise production and export rates," Jihad quoted Shahristani as saying.

Iraq has not signed any agreement setting out the technical and legal mechanisms to spend in oilfields shared by the two nations.

New speaker for Iraq parliament - BBC

Members of Iraq's parliament have elected a new speaker, ending months of dispute about who should fill the post.

Ayad al-Samarai, who is from the main Sunni Arab alliance, won 153 of 232 votes cast, and promised to work for national unity.

Politicians had agreed to reserve the position of speaker for a Sunni Arab, but Mr Samarai had failed to win a big enough majority in a previous vote.

Parliament has been without a speaker since last December.
The previous holder of the post, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, stepped down following criticism of his abrasive style.

After the vote that approved him as the new speaker, Mr Samarai said Iraq's parliament needed a "process of reform" that would allow competing parliamentary blocs to work together more productively.

"The process of [parliamentary] oversight is not a means of weakening the executive authority but of strengthening it," the AFP news agency reported him as saying.

Correspondents say his selection opens the way for parliament to deal with crucial reforms that have been on hold since Mr Mashhadani stepped down.

"Today we finished a complicated problem which has lasted for months and thank God has been settled in this democratic manner," the acting speaker, Khalid al-Attiya, told Reuters news agency.

"And we hope that the new era for the elected president [of parliament] will be full of achievements in order to allow parliament to rise to its responsibilities," he said.

Al Faw to 'change Iraqi economy' - Arabian Supply Chain

The Iraqi ministry of transport has confirmed its approval of the construction of the country’s biggest port; Al Faw, just south of Basra.

A ministry release indicated that the project would represent a landmark that would change the course of the Iraqi economy. The US$5.4 billion Al Faw Big Port is being designed by an Italian company, which will work in conjunction with the Iraqi ministry of transport.

“This port is a strategic project that will bring about this change,” said the release, according to the Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The strategic position of Iraq will make it the short-cut route to transport goods between the northern and southern parts of the world,” it added.

The decision validates recent suggestions from the General Company of Iraq Ports that it would be working on expanding cargo capacity at the country's facilities, and comes as interest in Iraq's import and export potential continues to grow.

So proud of Basra troops - army chief - Grantham Journal

A senior commanding officer from Wiltshire has paid tribute to the sacrifices made by soldiers serving in southern Iraq as UK forces prepare to end combat operations in the Middle Eastern country.

With three tours of Iraq to his name, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Chamberlain, Commanding Officer 5th Battalion The Rifles (5 Rifles), was there at the beginning of the invasion in 2003 and will witness the campaign come to an end.

Lt Col Chamberlain and 650 of his 1,000 troops currently based at the Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra are now weeks away from leaving after Major General Andy Salmon stood down and handed over military command to the US Army last month.

And looking back, Lt Col Chamberlain, originally from Devizes but now based at 5 Rifles' base in Germany, is without doubt the British Army has left a significantly positive mark on Basra City and the surrounding province.

Standing in the COB next to one of the Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles he first entered Basra in as a company commander and Major in 2003, he said: "The Basra we entered was a depressed, Middle Eastern city. It was old, it was crumbling, it was dirty. The cars were old, there were no modern vehicles on the road, there weren't any satellite TV dishes. The electricity wasn't functioning, it was a very run down place. The population was very frightened, very subdued and not hugely happy.

"But now it's changed significantly. It's completely different. It's a vibrant place, the population is happy, the middle class has come back, so things are functioning in a way they weren't in 2003.

"It's changed immeasurably, electricity is on, cars are modern, there are satellite dishes on every building, some people have air conditioning, people don't rely on generators in the back yard, it's a proper, viable, functioning Middle Eastern city.

"Yes, there is still a need for new hospitals, there are still more schools required, there is still infrastructure needed. But that work is now happening, and that's the big difference; it wasn't happening in 2003.

"People were not getting what they needed, the middle class were leaving where they could. Now they're here. They're investing in their future," he said. "We have had two elections here, we've got democracy here, people have their say. Children are going to school on proper terms, in a proper education system."

British combat operations in Iraq will end on May 31 and nearly all of the UK's remaining 4,100 troops in the country will be withdrawn by July 31.

Tribute to UK troops in Basra - Press & Journal

Senior officer highlights army’s positive impact on southern Iraq.

By Jamie Grierson

A senior commanding officer has paid tribute to the sacrifices made by soldiers serving in southern Iraq as UK forces prepare to end combat operations in the Middle Eastern country.

With three tours of Iraq to his name, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Chamberlain, Commanding Officer 5th Battalion, The Rifles (5 Rifles), was there at the beginning of the invasion in 2003 and will witness the campaign come to an end.

Lt Col Chamberlain and 650 of his 1,000 troops based at the Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra, are now weeks away from leaving after military command was handed to the US Army last month.

Lt Col Chamberlain has no doubt the British Army has left a significantly positive mark on Basra and the surrounding province.

Standing in the COB next to one of the Warrior armoured fighting vehicles he first entered Basra in as a major in 2003, he said: “The Basra we entered was a depressed, Middle Eastern city. It was old, it was crumbling, it was dirty. It was a very rundown place. The population was very frightened, very subdued and not hugely happy.

“But now it’s changed significantly. It’s a vibrant place, the population is happy, the middle class has come back, so things are functioning in a way they weren’t in 2003.”

British combat operations will end on May 31 and nearly all of the UK’s remaining 4,100 troops will be withdrawn by July 31.

Since 2003, 179 British personnel have lost their lives.

Lt Col Chamberlain paid tribute to them, and added that improvements in the country were down to their sacrifices.

He said: “The individual, personal tragedies, for people who have been killed and their families, and those who have been injured and their families, while desperately sad, the overall effect is positive.

“This country is better now than it was in 2003. I think we should be proud of the sacrifices they’ve made for this nation.”

Royal Navy continues training Iraqi Navy

The withdrawal of British combat troops from Iraq has already begun and by 31 July 2009 the vast bulk of British Armed Forces will have all left the country. Except that is, a small group of Royal Naval personnel.

The naval personnel will be staying in southern Iraq to train the fledgling Iraqi Navy who have a task essential to the country's future economic development; protecting the country's oil network and main port of Umm Qasr.

The port of Umm Qasr is gradually growing into a thriving area of commerce as it fulfils its role as Iraq's only deepwater quay facility.

The port operates 24-hours-a-day and hundreds of containers are being shipped from the area with thousands of trucks daily coming in and out of the port area. Located close to the Kuwaiti border, Umm Qasr receives 80 per cent of the country's imports.

The port is therefore also home to the Iraqi Navy which as well as protecting the port traffic has the vital role of protecting the country's two oil terminals out in the Gulf. These generate around 90 per cent of Iraq's income.

British troops are currently based at two camps in Umm Qasr. One of the two sites will be handed over to the Americans at the end of this month, but UK military personnel are likely to remain at the second camp until at least 2011 where a British-led Naval Training Team, currently consisting of 55 British and 25 US personnel, will continue its work mentoring the Iraqi Navy.

Wrexham man gives Territorial Army the thumbs up

THE final call is being made for applicants to take part in an intensive military training course, with one soldier from Wrexham heartily recommending the scheme.
Summer Challenge Wales hopes to recruit 150 more men and women into the Territorial Army (TA), a part-time element of the Regular Army that allows soldiers to also have civilian jobs, by condensing the required training, which usually takes up to 18 months, into a maximum of seven weeks.

The scheme was launched in January and there is now only a matter of weeks to go until the deadline for applications.

Geraint Jones, 25, of Wrexham, joined the TA while studying at university as he needed a part time job that brought in a bit of extra money to support his studies.

His job was a bit different than pulling pints in a bar or serving customers in a shop.

Lance Corporal Jones said: "I joined the TA when I was 17 and at sixth form – a few of us did it and we went together. Then when I went to university the money really came in handy and it was good fun as well.

"I would recommend joining the TA, especially if you're a student because it's a good way of getting a bit of money on the side while you study and there's a decent social side to it as well. It also gives you a better idea of what the Army is like if you were thinking about joining."

After graduating from Lancaster University, Geraint volunteered for two back-to-back operational tours in Iraq supporting the regular Army.

He said: "During the first tour I was a team commander in Iraq and worked with the bomb disposal team, went out on patrol and performed guard and escort duties.

"I enjoyed it so much that I went out again with the 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh and was part of operations in Basra.

"The second time was much harder as there was a bit more action and it was exciting at times. We had to do warrior strike operations and our job included clearing the route through to re-supply Basra Palace.

"You really put your training into action and learn lots of new skills on the job and of course you have a better appreciation of things at home."

New TA recruits who take part in Summer Challenge Wales will undergo a compressed two week military training programme in July 2009 at Maindy Barracks in Cardiff with an optional week of adventure training.

This will be followed by up to four weeks of specific trade training to gain the skills needed to become a fully fledged member of the TA.

We were liberators - Guardian

There is no talk of victory but my men and I fought to make a better place of Basra - and succeeded.

On 7 April 2003, 1 Para Battle Group entered Ad Dayr, north of Basra, on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab. It was a Saddam-regime stronghold and its defence by regime fighters had been expected. The fighters, however, had fled the night before and the battle group was welcomed into the town with open arms. There was no doubt in their minds that we had liberated them from tyranny.

I still have the photographs, taken by our embedded Press Association photographer, of women and children running towards us with their arms aloft and their faces bright with joy and relief. As the 20th Armoured Brigade, the last UK brigade to serve in Iraq, prepares to depart, we celebrate the courage and fortitude of the servicemen and women who have served in Iraq, in particular the 179 who died. At the same time, we must not forget the ordinary people of southern Iraq for whom we fought. General Rupert Smith coined the expression "war amongst the people", which neatly describes today's conflicts: we must consider the impact our actions had on the people of Basra.

For readers in Britain this may seem an odd sentiment but, as you affirm your views of the rights and wrongs of this conflict, you should not forget the reality of a 21st-century soldier's work. This is the 20th Armoured Brigade's third tour of Iraq, and some of our number have done four tours. In six years this means we have lived for at least 18 months among Iraqis and spent a further nine to 12 months preparing for the tours. We saw the good times immediately after the liberation (for those who dismiss the term, be assured that the Iraqi army brigade commanders with whom I work always correct me if I say invasion); we saw the ups and downs of fighting and reconstruction from 2004 through to 2007; and we have seen the peace - immature, admittedly, but growing - of 2008 and 2009.

We have lived and breathed Iraq, and its prospects concern us. We want to know that our blood and your treasure have not been wasted. Soldiers fight for their friends, their section and their regiment. Armies fight to achieve goals set by governments. But soldiers also want to know that the people among whom they fought have a better peace ahead of them.

Fifteen British brigades have served in southern Iraq. The 20th Armoured Brigade will bear witness to the better peace that lies ahead for Basrawis. We can tell our comrades that their efforts achieved a good result. We won't ever talk about victory - it's an outdated strategic concept anyway - but we will talk about success.

The Iraqi army we helped train, aided by the Iraqi police, provides security for Basra and its citizens. Of that, there can be no doubt. The police, currently being trained by American soldiers, improve steadily. Free and fair provincial elections were held in January in a secure environment without intimidation or fear. The old council, perceived not to have delivered the essential services people wanted, was voted out. A new council now sits. In this newly won stability, reconstruction gathers pace. These are the successes that your servicemen and women helped achieve. From these, Basrawis have a better peace and Basra is a better place for it.

It's not yet perfect and there will be hurdles in the way but, just as Colour Sergeant Pepper, about whom Audrey Gillan wrote in the Guardian this week, needed to check on an Iraqi family caught up in his August 2004 battle, our comrades can be reassured that Basrawis, liberated from tyranny in 2003, have a better peace ahead of them in 2009.

• Brigadier Tom Beckett is the commander of 20th Armoured Brigade and all British forces in Basra

Countdown To UK Troops' Exit From Iraq - Sky

Geoff Meade, defence correspondent

The countdown is under way for the final withdrawal of British forces from Iraq.

Next month, a flag-lowering ceremony in Basra will complete the transfer of authority to American troops.

The bulk of more than 4,000 UK servicemen and women will then head for home.

It marks the end of one of the most controversial operations since the Second World War, which has lasted more than six years and cost 179 British lives.

For most of the last year, the tide of battle has been running in favour of British forces now into their last month of patrolling.

Yet although insurgent activity has subsided dramatically, the troops of the Army's riverine squad stay alert as their shallow-draught launches skim the salt marshes around Basra.

The enemy has used the network of waterways as perfect cover for launching rocket and mortar attacks on the main coalition base two miles away.

The men of 5 Rifles and 35 Engineer Regiment remain vigilant in case the insurgents should be planning an unwelcome parting gift.

Meanwhile, in the city itself, soldiers of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment were dismounting the machine guns from their armoured vehicles in the final days of their third tour.

"We've spent enough time here, we've helped them out enough," said Cpl Nathaniel Wrigglesworth.

His colleague Lance Cpl Paul Woods added: "Now is probably the best time to go. We can actually see it from start to finish."

In British cookhouses - newly designated as "dining facilities" - they serve iced coffee and burgers alongside the fish and chips.

Some 3,400 American troops are moving in, part of a US force that may remain for another two years.

When the MoD ordered the withdrawal to this fortified base 18 months ago, sources close to US command were reported as saying "the British had lost Basra".

The Pentagon's senior military adviser in the city denies any rift over the decision to pull out first.

"Their leadership has made the decision that it's time to move on and work in another location," insisted Lt Col Angelo Johnson.

"We have to agree that they've made the right decision."

Were widespread violence to return, it is inconceivable Britain would come back to such a contentious mission that put such strain on its military.

Helicopters and troops are needed in the growing battle for Afghanistan.

For better or worse, it is now up to the Iraqis themselves to secure the fragile peace and ensure lives lost so far are not in vain.

Firearms at the Funfair? Not in Basra! - Sky

By Goeff Meade

Everything about him defined resolute. Neat-trimmed grey moustache and piercing eyes glaring from beneath his white Arab head dress. Having survived Saddam's tyranny, war with Iran, foreign invasion and civil conflict - there was no way he was going to let this latest armed threat pass through his checkpoint.

There he stood, just one individual defying the might of a score of heavily-armed soldiers from four armoured Humvees whose turrets swung ominously as their machine gunners pondered what to do next.

And all we were attempting was a trip to a fun fair. Yet, tooled up with enough firepower to start a small war, we were thwarted by Ali, the ticket man.

To demonstrtate how much normality had returned to the streets of Iraq's second city, a year after Baghdad's soldiers wrested control from hard line Shia militias, the military took us on a convoy downtown.

It felt surreal enough as snugged into ceramic body armour and peering beneath a kevlar helmet, we stepped into the neon lights of Basara's "Fun City". Assailed by traditional music, the waft of a dozen kebab stalls and the shrill exitement of children's birthday celebrations, we were eager to sample this slice of Friday night, Basra style.

Just one obstacle barred our way. He was manning the turnstile taking money from the crowds who thronged to the bright lights and thrill of the only place to party.

In the austere years of mullah-dominated rule all this was frowned on and forbidden. Women daring to venture uncovered in public could be beaten. Secular music was banned. Good times were strictly off the agenda.

These days the 1.7m Baswaris are making up for lost years, enjoying the peace and relative prosperity the region's oil wealth promises. New shopping centres teem with trade and pavement cafes are busy with customers sipping strong cofee, sucking on water pipes and enjoying people-watching in the balmy Spring evenings.

But memories of violence that cost hundreds of lives and touched many families were just too raw for Fun City's gate guardian to let a platoon kitted like stormtroopers spoil the mood. It was nothing to do with the money. He just flatly refused to allow more than two soldiers into his theme park.

A compromise was struck. Whilst our US Special Forces host and his protecting entourage kept their distance, I was allowed to circulate among the fairground with for company just cameraman Richie Mockler and an Iraqi red-beret cradling a machine gun and festooned with a bandolier of bullets.

No wonder the owner of the shooting gallery looked worried.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock and Colonel Tim Collins reflect on the Iraq war - Guardian

I think at the time there was a case for going in because Saddam was resisting a whole raft of resolutions, building a missile programme that was proven, and the WMD question was unknown. There was a strong case, that Tony Blair made, that better to deal with him then than leave it till later. It was, however, high risk because we hadn't established legitimacy of what were doing.

In the invasion the British did extremely well. It was a high-grade military performance. Post-invasion it was extremely difficult to work within what was an American dysfunctional performance. In the first two years we performed superbly in the south. It was only when Basra politics became so confused and divisive that we found it hard to keep it together. In the end it was the right decision to pull out because Britain had done the job.

It will long be remembered that we were part of a forceful intervention in someone else's territory that a lot of people resented, and many saw as illegitimate. The fact that we did it without full international backing undoubtedly has had an impact on our global image. On the other hand, in the Middle East, we are regarded as understanding the region better than in the US, of understanding local interests better. I think it's not fatal. It's a sticky period but its recoverable.

Colonel Tim Collins, best known for his inspirational speech to his troops on the eve of the Iraq war in 2003

I think the whole scheme ultimately was probably ill-conceived. That was compounded by some poor decisions that were taken shortly after the invasion. There was no understanding of the conditions that we found and no clear strategy and that probably cost something in the order of three years of chaos before things could be restored. It's a tale of two parts. The United States fared poorly at the beginning of the insurgency. Their learning curve was extreme, and I have to say they have come out of it as a thoroughly impressive counter-insurgency force that has achieved tangible results in Iraq.

The tale for the British sadly was the opposite. It was a very different army that went in. The men and women did well as individuals. It exposed the poor level of command and staff - which has been swept away - and a poor performance at strategic level and what the Americans would characterise as an institutional lack of aggression and forward leaning and a capacity for muddled thinking. I think the army is a better army for the experience. It is a better equipped army, it's a better led army. It's an army now with a clear purpose.

US warfare experts inspired by bayonet charge by British troops - Mirror

Warfare experts in the US are using a famous bayonet charge by British troops as an example of how to tackle insurgents.

They were inspired by the heroic assault by 20 members of the 16th Air Assault Brigade in Basra in May 2004.

A convoy was ambushed by more than 100 members of the notorious Shia militia, the Mahdi Army. When they started to run out of ammunition the Brits fixed bayonets and charged at the enemy positions screaming.

Many of the Iraqis fled the British onslaught, which left more than 20 dead.

Just a handful of British soldiers were wounded and the incident is now being hailed as a major triumph for shock tactics.

The Urban Warfare Analysis Center said: "The attack captured the element of surprise. Enemy fighters probably believed propaganda stating that coalition troops were cowards, unwilling to fight in close combat."

York Squadron Leader Damon Middleton looks forward to return home after Iraq service - The Press

HE could not be home in time to celebrate Easter with his family, but this York RAF pilot is now counting down the days before his tour of duty in Iraq is over.

Squadron Leader Damon Middleton, whose wife and three sons are longing for his safe return, has been deployed in the war-torn country since November.

The 39-year-old, who usually flies Hercules planes, is taking on a ground role in Iraq – acting as the chief air advisor for the British Army’s 20th Armoured Brigade.

He is stationed at the British and American Contingency Operating Base in the southern city of Basra and is due to return home in May.

“Seven months without the wife and kids is a long time,” he said.

“I’ve even been replaced at home by Gatsby the dog. It’s great to know I can be so easily replaced by a £200 chocolate brown Springador.”

It is the second time that Sqn Ldr Middleton has served in Iraq – the first being during the American and British invasion of 2003.

“I feel very proud of what we have achieved in the country since then,” he said.

“Back then, Iraq was in a very poor way, but now the local people are walking around town, going for a kebab, and they tell us that they are very happy.

“It’s great to think that when the British leave the country this summer, we will be leaving with the job done.”

Sqn Ldr Middleton, who lives in Nun Monkton, near York, has served in Afghanistan, Angola and Bosnia during his RAF career.

He trained as a pilot at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in 1990 and later returned as the deputy chief instructor, from 2002 to 2007.“What I love about being a pilot is that every day is different,” he said.

“Although you do the same job, the weather is different, the places you land are different, the challenges are different and the people you meet are different.”

He said although he was enjoying his job in Iraq, he was looking forward to getting home to his wife, Anna, and three sons, Connor, 16, Oliver, six, and Charlie, five.

“I’m ready to come home now,” he said.

“I work seven days a week, 14 to 15 hours every day, and I’m tired.

“I’m looking forward to sitting in the middle of York and having a pint by the river at the King’s Arms.”

Fair in Iraqi holy city draws Turkish traders - AFP

Representatives from more than 60 Turkish companies gathered in Iraq's shrine city Najaf on Monday for a trade fair aimed at drawing foreign investment back to the war-torn country.

The exhibition, organised by the Turkish Chamber of Commerce and the Iraqi Exhibitions Company brought about 100 Turkish business leaders to a hall in the holy Shiite city's main market, according to organisers.

"The goal of holding this exhibition is to attract Turkish investment to Iraq," said organiser Emad al-Rubaie.

"More than 60 companies are attending, especially manufacturers of medium and heavy machinery, including electrical power plant."

Traders were expecting not only to sell their products but to set up investment deals with Iraqi companies.

One of the Turkish businessmen who attended was Ali Gugman, who makes wheelchairs and expressed strong interest in the Iraqi market.

"Our company is interested in meeting the needs of the disabled and the elderly with wheelchairs that will lessen the impact of their disabilities," he said.

Najaf has seen several exhibitions in recent months including a gathering of Iranian industrialists and Rubaie said he intends to organise similar events in the coming months in Baghdad, Basra, and Karbala.

Although security has improved dramatically in Iraq over the past two years the country is struggling economically because of low oil prices and the extensive damage to infrastructure left by decades of war and sanctions.