It's over - The Sun

All yours ... Britain's Brigadier Tom Beckett, right, and US Colonel Butch Kievanaar shake hands at the handover in Basra

From TOM NEWTON DUNN
Defence Editor, in Basra

BRITAIN’S military mission in southern Iraq ended yesterday — and Our Boys and Girls were told: “It’s time to go home.”

The historic announcement means the troops can leave a month earlier than planned.

The fight to topple Saddam Hussein, defeat insurgent fanatics and secure Basra has lasted six years, one month and 11 days — a month longer than World War Two. It also cost the country 179 killed and around 1,000 wounded. An estimated 300 of the wounded are crippled for life.

All 4,100 UK troops still in Iraq were ordered to return to their HQ at Basra airport by midnight last night.

The first combat troops left early this morning but the withdrawal of armoured units via Kuwaiti ports is expected to take a month. Defence Secretary John Hutton and UK, US and Iraqi top brass looked on as Brigadier Tom Beckett handed over control of Iraq’s second city to an American colonel.

A poignant memorial service was held for the fallen.

A lone piper played as all their names and dates of death were read out by representatives of their 40 units.

The list began with Royal Navy Operator Mechanic Ian Seymour, who was killed aged 29 in a helicopter crash on March 21, 2003 — the first night of the invasion.

It ended with Private Ryan Wrathall, 21, who died on February 12 this year.

Tears

Army padre Father Paschal Hanrahan said: “Each name is unique, a husband, a wife, a father, a mother. Each was a colleague or a mate who we knew we could rely on, who put their lives on the line.”

There were tears on the faces of many listening.

Then the Last Post was played and a single Tornado jet flew low overhead, dipping its wings in tribute.

The moment forces families have waited for came with the lowering of the British flag and a handshake between Brigadier Beckett and US Army Colonel Butch Kievanaar.

Brig Beckett, boss of 20 Armoured Brigade, said: “We leave knowing we have done our job and done it well.”

The Iraqi Army will take over security following the biggest British military withdrawal since the Korean War.

As they packed, happy troops told of their relief.

Sgt Karl Thompson, 29, from Cornwall, completed four six-month Iraq tours, including the original invasion.

The 5th Battalion Riflesman said: “Today feels good. I can go home knowing I’m not going to come out here again. I lost a friend here in 2006.”

Four hundred British military advisors will stay in Iraq.

Well over 100,000 Brits have served in the country and the mission has cost £8billion.

Defence Secretary Mr Hutton told The Sun: “Basra has been left a better place than the critics and cynics said it would have been. That is why today is a day of pride.” Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said: “Every one of the sailors, marines, soldiers and airmen and their families can feel proud.”

And General Sir Richard Dannatt sent a message, saying: “It has been the courage, sense of purpose, and sheer grit of the British soldier that has underpinned this success.

"I am immensely grateful for your commitment, and the support and patience of your families and friends.”

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."

RAF lose in Basra football final

Click here for a video of the competition
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7947315.stm

A six-a-side charity football tournament involving UK and local forces in Basra, Iraq, has been won by one of the home teams.

The Iraqi police service, wearing a Wigan Athletic strip, beat the RAF 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, playing as Sunderland, 2-0 in the final.

The event was sponsored by the English Premier League, which donated strips.

A total of 20 teams from the British and Iraqi forces and civilian contractors took part.

The competition was played on Sunday at Britain's Contingency Operating Base.

It worked on a World Cup format with four leagues of five teams and the winners and runners-up of each league going forward into the final eight for the knockout stages.

Brigadier Abdul Hussein Soud Sawadi Toama, commander of 52 Brigade Iraqi army, which fielded a team, said: "We had a beautiful day away from our military jobs and we are grateful to participate in this competition."

Charity auction

Major General Andy Salmon, commander of multi-national division (south east), said: "Everyone has got on with it together in a spirit of fun and mutual trust and co-operation which is exactly a reflection of what we have done for the last eight or nine months."

In order to allocate strips, the organisers held a charity auction during which the teams bid for their favourite jerseys.

The auction raised a total of £4,300, a figure matched by the Premier League.

A total of £8,600 will go to Project 65, created to honour the men who took part in the Coup de Main operation to capture the bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne in Normandy in the first combat operation of D-Day 65 years ago.

These are now known as Pegasus and Horsa Bridges.

The charity aims to raise £500,000, a small proportion of which will be used to erect a memorial to the men of the Coup de Main force and those directly associated with the operation.

The rest will be split between various service charities.

Orphanage get a new dining room

The Al Zahara Childrens orphanage in the Al Andolous area of Basra has a new dining room thanks to funds provided by the British Forces and furniture thanks to Iraqi benevolence.

To grand opening was marked by a late breakfast attended by the orphanage’s patron, Doctor Wathib Al-Amood, and the Second-in-Command of the Queen’s Royal Hussars, Major Tom Mallinson.

Prior to getting their new dining room, built onto an under used terrace, the children ate in a corridor.

Dr Al-Amood said: “Thank-you for this project, you have seen the value of this to the children. Because of their past and their poverty they are now dreaming of better things and I hope, one day, you will meet one of my children as a doctor or an engineer”

Major Mallinson said: “I was only too happy to finish this project; I regard this as a joint British and Iraqi effort as we have all played our part and it shows Iraqis can look after their own. I hope, Dr A-Amood, that the children remember what you have done for them for a long time”

The children then sang “Welcome to our home” in English and further demonstrated their command of the English language before singing an Iraqi song for their guests.

The orphanage provides a secure environment and education to 70 children. The school also provides an education to a further 180 local children.

Dr Al-Amood was a candidate in the recent elections, and while he was not successful he remains committed to the democratic process saying: “This was a very good activity and the elections went very smoothly with no disturbance”

British troops prepare Iraq withdrawal - BBC

British troops are training and mentoring the Iraqi army ahead of the final departure of the British Army on 31 July.

As the UK announces its withdrawal from Iraq,an overall judgement of its deployment should be a favourable one.

Lessons learned on Basra streets - BBC Online

Paul Adams
BBC News, Basra

In the third instalment of his week-long diary, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams joins US military police as they mentor local officers.

A change of scene this morning, as we're taken to watch the Americans at work. Basra may have been at the heart of the British operation since 2003, but the Americans are here too, doing similar work.

At the Saudia police station in Brehah neighbourhood, we catch up with a squad of military police (MPs) from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

They're mentoring local policemen, just as our British hosts, a Military Transition Team, are working with the Iraqi army.

'Getting out'

We follow Sgt Collier's men as they shadow an Iraqi patrol down the road to a polling station where members of the security forces - army and police - are already voting in provincial elections (the rest of the population votes on Saturday, and we'll be there to watch).

The streets of this residential neighbourhood are quiet. The American MPs have all seen much more dangerous neighbourhoods during tours elsewhere in Iraq. They seem happy enough to be down in Basra.

They know their British colleagues are getting ready to leave, but there's no apparent resentment.

"You guys are smart. You're getting out early," says a young MP.

Lt Aaron Webb is more circumspect.

"I think it's a false impression. Both our countries have their own timetable when they want to step out of Iraq."

In a spartan, smoke filled office at the police station, another MP is trying to get his head around a complicated crime involving rape, honour and revenge.

There are cultural issues to understand ("Do Christians do honour killings?") and basic policing to check ("Is the prisoner being properly protected?"). The young man from Fort Bragg struggles to take it all in his stride.

Professional pride

From here we drive through the teeming streets of downtown Basra for lunch with 1 Batt, 50 Brigade. Col Haidar is our host and they've pulled out all the stops. A long table groans with platters of rice, lamb and fish.

But the Colonel seems preoccupied. One of his many mobile phones rings constantly.

Almost all his men are out guarding polling stations days ahead of the elections. He knows that even if there is no violence, this weekend is a test of the army's organisational skills.

He also allows himself a little nostalgia. He doesn't express any views on Saddam Hussein (and I'm not about to ask), but he's full of professional pride and he misses being part of a real army.

Back at the old navy base where 50 Brigade and our British transition team share spartan accommodation, most of the men are relaxing. There's physical training to perform, and perhaps a game of volleyball on a malodorous patch of dirt behind our building.

For the article on BBC Online click here

Ex-war zone prepares for election - BBC

Paul Adams
BBC News, in Basra

In the second instalment of his week-long diary, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams joins Iraqi troops as they patrol an area repeatedly hit by conflict but now preparing for elections.

Another pre-dawn start as we follow elements of the Iraqi 14th Division down to Safwan, on the Kuwaiti border.

This is where we used to come in and out of Iraq in 2003-04, before the road became too dangerous.

A bright orange sun rises, spectacularly, behind the fierce gas flares of a nearby oil field.

It is a spectacular sight but the convoy sweeps on and my cameraman, Fred, can only dream of what might have been.

Once again, the area is swarming with Iraqi soldiers, but this time there is no specific target.

Col Haidar of the 1st Battalion, 50 Brigade, says it is just a show of strength before Saturday's important provincial elections.

A police counterpart arrives on the scene and the atmosphere is briefly frosty - when the Iraqi army took on Basra's militiamen during intense fighting last spring, two of Col Haidar's men were killed by policemen allied to the militias.

It still rankles.

But food arrives, chairs are provided and the mood lightens. In one of this week's more improbable moments, we eat a breakfast of kebabs in the middle of the busy highway, army jeeps and heavily armed guards ranged about to stop the traffic.

Col Haidar is a veteran soldier and he speaks with a rueful smile of being one of the first Iraqi soldiers into Kuwait during Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion (which triggered the first Gulf War).

Bloodshed and hardship

Safwan has seen armies come and go since then.

The retreating Iraqis were harried by coalition forces as they were bundled out of Kuwait in 1991 (some of the military wreckage which litters the desert around here almost certainly dates from that harrowing episode).

A dozen years later, coalition forces raced north from the same stretch of border. Local people watched and waved and the British imagined that this might not be so hard.

Now, after almost six years of bloodshed and great hardship, the British are getting ready to leave.

The mentoring team I am embedded with will probably be gone within weeks and the huge logistical task of evacuating the British headquarters out at the airport has already begun.

A few miles to the west, we can see trucks moving south along Route Topeka, the coalition's main supply route from Kuwait. By June and July, it will be even busier.

Back in Basra, we pause to take in streets festooned with garish election posters.

A bewildering array of candidates and lists gazes down on the city, but the population seems cynical about the ability of politicians to improve their lot.

Fred's camera comes out and soon we are surrounded by an animated crowd, bombarded from all sides by passionately held views on politics and the war. Are the British entitled to leave with honour, I ask?

The response is decidedly mixed. Yes, Tony Blair and George Bush brought us a kind of democracy, they say, but what good has it really done us?

British and Iraqi soldiers look on from a polite distance, but no-one interferes and the Basrawis are free to speak their minds.

Click here to see the article on BBC Online

UK troops in Iraq ponder legacy - BBC

In a cavernous single room, with a grubby tiled floor and two rows of imposing columns, 50 British soldiers eat, sleep and go about their duties.

Outside, four vast Mastiff armoured vehicles and a sand-filled blast barrier guard the entry.

The British are here as guests of the Iraqi army - the rest of the old navy base, close to the Shatt al-Arab waterway, is home to 50 Brigade - but the basic habits of security are deeply ingrained.

The British have had their ups and downs here in Basra, but since law and order was restored to the city after fierce fighting between the Iraqi army and local militiamen last spring, life has been less eventful.

The bulk of the British contingent, about 4,000 troops, are out at the city's airport, well out of view of the local population.

But about 200 are still in the city, embedded with Iraqi army units in low-profile "MiTTs" (Military Transition Teams). Their job is to mentor and advise the army as it learns to stand on its own two feet.

Another 650 British soldiers are working in MiTTs outside the city.

'Big task'

The teams are tiny - most of the 50 camped out at the naval base are there for force protection - and they are measuring the progress of their Iraqi counterparts according to a country-wide set of standards - an Operational Readiness Assessment - set by the US-led coalition in Baghdad.

The British say they are impressed with the mounting confidence of the Basra-based 14th Division, and this week they were pleasantly surprised to see large-scale search operations conducted in the lawless town of Az-Zubeir.

But there is still some way to go, which is hardly surprising for an army defeated, disbanded and then reconstituted from scratch by an invader-turned-ally.

"They've developed some kind of dependency on us," says Maj Adrian Grinonneau, from the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

"We've got to wean them off that in a very short space of time and that's a big task."

But as the date for the departure approaches, there is another problem.

When the last British soldiers leave Iraq, on or before 31 July, many will wonder what their true legacy is.

Knocking an Iraqi army division into shape is no mean achievement, but is it enough?

Gordon Brown, never this war's greatest proponent, set a limited set of goals last summer - complete the training and mentoring of the 14th Division, hand over Basra airport to civilian control, set the environment for successful provincial elections and help to boost investment. Then leave.

The airport is now in Iraqi hands and work with 14th Division is almost complete.

Elections are imminent and the Foreign Office in London says investment worth £9bn is in the pipeline although Basra's filthy streets and open sewers suggest the results may take some time to materialise.

But as the British withdrawal from Iraq begins - some equipment has already been driven out to Kuwait - the Americans are moving in.

They have had small mentoring teams in the city since last August, working with the police, and they will soon take over command of the Basra air station.

To sceptical eyes, it feeds the notion that we are quitting early, leaving the Americans to finish the job.

When I joined an American police mentoring team on patrol through a quiet neighbourhood of Basra Lt Aaron Webb of the 21st Military Police Company said the impression was false, but added: "We're just coming down here to continue on what the British forces have been doing for the last few years."

As the Union Jack disappears and the Stars and Stripes is run up the flagpole, British commanders know the images will appear to tell their own story.

But they insist their own specific tasks are complete and they can leave with honour intact.

The British divisional commander Maj Gen Andy Salmon says his own men tell him it has been worth it.

"They really feel satisfied about being able to look back and say despite the ups and downs and some really difficult periods we're in a really good place."

The British soldiers at Basra's old naval base will be glad to leave their spartan conditions behind and know they will not be around much longer.

Some of them wonder how their work here will be judged.

Click here for BBC Online

Military commitment - Times Online

Mutual respect: the bond between the US and UK Armed Forces has never been stronger

Sir, The mutual respect the US and UK Armed Forces have for each other has never been stronger. Our shared commitment is clear — we are the two greatest providers of troops to Afghanistan. And UK troops have taken the fight to the enemy — clearing insurgents, disrupting enemy communication and destroying weapons and narcotics. These are not the actions of a country with, as Bronwen Maddox claims, no significant help left to give (Commentary, Jan 23).

I cannot speak on behalf on the Americans. That is better left to them. The US Supreme Commander in Afghanistan stated: “I have no plans for by-passing one of our most trusted partners in the mission.” And the US Corps Commander in Iraq said: “What the Brits have achieved in Basra is incredible. We need to take lessons from their approach.” These statements pour cold water on Bronwen Maddox’s view of a “caustic mood” about the UK’s “slither out of Basra”.

Our political and financial commitment to defending our nation remains resolute. Our defence budget is second only to that of the US and this Government has brought the longest period of growth for 20 years. By the end of 2009 will have spent nearly £14 billion on operations since 2001. This is why we can commit to a new generation of aircraft carriers — the only European country to have done so. Also why we have increased helicopter flying hours by 60 per cent, will send 700 more protected vehicles to Afghanistan and have given our troops the best body armour available.

These are not the signs of a country shrinking from defence, but of one committed to maintaining its military capability and working alongside its closest ally now and in the future.

John Hutton

Secretary of State for Defence

See the full article on the Times by clicking here

Basra rediscovers hope after years of war as British prepare to leave - Telegraph

By Nick Meo in Basra

Strolling with his wife on Basra's corniche as a refreshing breeze blew in from the Shatt al-Arab waterway, Aladeen Hassan observed that a year ago enjoying this simple pleasure would have been to invite death.

"If I had come here with my wife then we would have been killed or abducted for sure," Mr Hassan said with a grin. "But now we come here all the time and in the afternoon it is so crowded you cannot find a seat in the cafes.

"Basra has been reborn. The militias have gone, the people are happy, and we have our city back again."

For three years until last March, gangs terrorised Iraq's second city and killed British soldiers in its streets. Criminals looted and kidnapped while the religious zealots of the Mahdi Army enforced a harsh Islamic rule. The streets were so dangerous that Mr Hassan's wife, Thana, spent nearly six years locked in their tiny flat.

"It was like being a prisoner," she said. She would occasionally dart out to a shop, heavily veiled for protection in case she ran into militiamen.

Now Mrs Hassan dares to go out in public wearing makeup, although her modest black abaya still covers her hair and she is careful to wear black gloves.

Elsewhere on the corniche, the walkway along the Shatt al-Arab that is the heart of Basra's social life, courting couples flirt discreetly. Some even dare to hold hands as they watch boats, or come at dusk to gaze romantically at the sun setting behind the date palm groves on the far bank of the waterway.

The mood has lifted business too in the city, raising hopes of reconstruction and an economic takeoff financed by Iraqi oil. It has even fuelled a property boom, perhaps the only one in the world right now, with top-end house prices almost doubling over the last year.

British troops still patrol the city from time to time but security is now in the hands of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and police who have flooded Basra's filthy streets ahead of provincial elections next weekend.

Security may be better in the sprawling city of more than one million, but stagnant pools remain in the rutted streets and piles of rubbish are strewn in bazzars, slums and even the best residential areas.

Adding to the chaos, walls, lamp-posts and vehicles are plastered with posters of the candidates. Most are well-fed men in suits, not the scowling fundamentalists in turbans whose stars are waning. A quarter of the candidates are women. Hopes are high that the militia-linked candidates will get nowhere and instead a new and energetic set of politicians will be voted in to run the city.

If that happens and violence is minimal the remaining Iraqi businessmen and professionals who fled abroad when the anarchy was at its worst will return. A peaceful election will also give a green light to hundreds of foreign companies who are ready to move in to the oil-rich province.

The transformation of Basra after almost three decades on the frontline of a series of wars is now a real possibility.

Many Basrans can still hardly believe that their long nightmare could really be over.

Last January Sammi Alta'ee, a 27-year-old translator for British troops, had decided that his only chance of a future was to somehow escape Iraq.

"I'd had enough," he said. "The police were being bullied by the militias, who were so violent and had better weapons than the police. I thought at that time that there was no hope for Iraq and my friends all thought the same.

"Yet now the violence seems to be over and we are seeing the beginning of real reconstruction in our country at last. The people have turned against the militias. They believe the future is good."

That future has been bought at the price of the lives of 178 British soldiers who have been killed since 2003, some in the initial invasion but most in the traumatic and gruelling guerrilla war that followed but which is now over. Soldiers died or were maimed in mortar attacks on their bases and by sophisticated bombs which shot streams of molten metal through the armour of their vehicles.

Now the Army's role is training their Iraqi counterparts as the British prepare to bring their Basra operation to a close and start leaving Iraq in May. Soldiers on their third and fourth tour barely recognise the city they have been sent back to. Mortar and rocket attacks on the British base in Basra Palace have fallen from five per day a year ago to none since November.

Major Jez Mawdsley, of 26 Regiment, Royal Artillery, said: "We're in the endgame now. The lads want to go to Afghanistan."

The officers talk earnestly about their legacy – of helping topple Saddam, struggling to fill the post-invasion power vacuum, and most importantly, training Iraqi security forces who can keep the peace when they have gone.

Frustratingly for the British though, after years of fighting they had a only a minor role in the military operation ordered by the Iraqi government last March which finally drove out the gangs and allowed the transformation of the city to happen.

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and their US trainers were ordered to finally grapple with the militias in operation Charge of the Knights. After a few nervous days of bitter fighting the gangs broke. Many of their 2000 or so hardcore fighters were killed and the survivors fled to Iran to join their discredited leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, in exile.

Since then, they have barely been seen in the city, their place taken by Iraqi security forces mainly trained and equipped at great expense by the Americans. After the militias were forced out their support evaporated among a population who feared them and were sick of their violence. Few Basrans want them back, although there are fears that the extremists could try again if the new mood of optimism is not bolstered by the reconstruction which was promised in 2003 but never happened.

Now it should do.

The Americans who are increasingly turning up to replace the British in bases in the south have bigger budgets and no war to distract them from reconstruction. They are determined to seal their victory and win hearts and minds by rebuilding.

Captain Robert Lansden, a US Navy captain who arrived in Basra two months ago to construct a bridge, put the American philosophy succinctly.

He said: "Once you've finished killing the bad guys, it's time to spread the love."

click here for the full report on the Telegraph website

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

MiTTs: Enabling the Iraqis to take charge

Wearing soft hats and smiles, Basra's native soldiers' relaxed air as they patrol the city's streets serves as a tangible example of the upturn in security in southern Iraq. Helping them inch ever closer to assuming full control of Basra are British Military Transition Teams (MiTTs). Report by Stephen Tyler.

Operating in areas that less than a year ago would have taken several hundred men to take and hold, the Iraqis are making giant strides in convincing Basrawis that they are a force for good.

Central to that shift in opinion has been the implementation of the MiTT system by coalition troops. Already widely used by the US Army in Baghdad and by the British - in the form of OMLTs (Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams) - in Afghanistan, the concept is helping indigenous soldiers take charge of their country's destiny.

By allying a Military Transition Team to individual battalions of the Iraqi Army's 14th Division, the British enable the Basra-based soldiers to take the lead in establishing and maintaining security across the city.

Major Conrad Turpin of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the man in charge of monitoring the transition project, explained that the principle behind successful 'mitting' is to take a back seat and allow the Iraqis to empower themselves by taking charge of everything from training programmes to operations:

"Training is a very small part of mitting," he said. "It's more about living alongside the Iraqi Army and providing support as and when they need it. We are not here to be overseers and instructors, we are here to enable them to succeed.

"Ultimately our aim is to grow and develop the 14th Division to the point where they are able to cope without us and act fully on their own. Our first job out here was to learn from them what they do and how they do it because we are not trying to impose the British way onto them. It's Iraqi-led and we have to ensure that they succeed. If they don't, the populace won't support them and they will have lost Basra."

The success of mitting is clear to see in and around Basra's southern suburbs.
Deep in territory once ruled by trigger-happy militiamen sits a bombed-out hotel that now serves as the base for a company of 50 Brigade Iraqi troops.

From their adopted home - which was a Jaish Al Mahdi stronghold less than a year ago - the soldiers carry out patrols and conduct training under a MiTT relationship with 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Major Toby Christie, Officer Commanding, was quick to dispel any notions that the Iraqis were anything other than well-trained soldiers dedicated to securing a peaceful future for their country:
"There seems to be an impression that they are a bunch of boy scouts, but they are not," he said.
"They are professional and capable and in Operation Charge of the Knights they fought through the city like a bunch of devils."

Further evidence of the inroads mitting is making in the peace process is not hard to find. The palpable sense of danger that engulfed Basra just half-a-year ago has lifted and the locals are returning to some semblance of normality in their day-to-day lives.

Perhaps inevitably for a city that has known little other than firefights and explosions in its recent history, the streets and buildings bear the scars of battle. But with the damage comes the need for regeneration and the demand for repairs and for new equipment has given the Iraqis another chance to win favour with the population.

Military Transition Teams visit neighbourhoods within their areas to look for improvements that need to be made and are then able to apply for coalition cash to get the work done.

Local labour and material is used wherever possible and the resulting boost to both the communities and the economy is helping to turn even more hearts and minds round to the Army's way of thinking:

"We have helped with Iraqi-identified support projects like improving sewerage and drainage to win influence in the communities," continued Major Christie. "That has enabled them to learn from the process and carry out their own influence operations. It's exhausting and hard work and frustrations arise because of the cultural and language barrier, but it's been a challenge that has provided clear results after six months."

From a base in the heart of Basra, soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and 9th/12th Royal Lancers have also been impressed with the increasing ability of their Iraqi counterparts.

During a dawn patrol which took troops past curious crowds of children making their way to school in unprecedented safety, Major Bev Allen of 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment said he was pleasantly surprised with the professionalism of the 1st Battalion 51 Brigade Iraqi troops working in his MiTT:

"For me, the perception before I came was that we would be dealing with an amateur army who were not capable of operating successfully on their own," he said. "I'm glad to say that myth has been blown out of the water.

"We have done a lot of influence work and I think the Iraqis are more than capable of taking things forward. It has been a very good tour."

The infectious faith in Iraq's soldiers is spreading across the south of the country largely thanks to the support and guidance of the Military Transition Teams.

And although the Iraqi Army still has some way to go before it is ready to assume full control of Basra, Major Christie said the MiTT system has helped the Middle Eastern soldiers inch closer than ever before:

"It's still not a bed of roses and it would be mad to suggest it is," he concluded. "But things are moving fast and the city is certainly very optimistic."

Troops out of Iraq by April, Alexander says

By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent - Telegraph.co.uk

Speaking during a visit to Basra, Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, said that a "significant draw-down" of troops was on the way.

Final negotiations are said to be underway with the Iraqi government, with Gordon Brown expected to make an announcement before Christmas.

Iraq has been pressing for the speedy withdrawal of all foreign troops, and Barack Obama, the President-Elect, is keen to pull American forces out of the country as soon as possible.

Mr Alexander said: "We'll continue to work closely with the government of Iraq but we will see a significant drawdown of British troops as a recognition of the progress and success that's been enjoyed here in Basra.

"We are looking ahead to the first half of 2009 but our focus on the moment is securing the possibility that I've seen today which is for further jobs, further investment, further prosperity."

Read the full article on the Telegraph.co.uk web site

Thousands of British troops 'home from Iraq next year' - Daily Mail

By Nicholas Cecil

Thousands of British troops will be withdrawn from Iraq next year, a Cabinet minister said today.

Overseas Aid Secretary Douglas Alexander firmed up earlier proposals for a fundamental shift in the mission in Iraq early next year.

Mr Alexander, who is visiting Basra, told Sky News: 'We'll continue to work closely with the government of Iraq but we will see a significant draw-down of British troops as a recognition of the progress and success that's been enjoyed here in Basra.

To see the Daily Mail report click here

Brits Out Of Iraq By The Summer - Sky News

Final negotiations are under way with the Iraqi government, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to make an announcement by Christmas.

Iraq is pressing for the withdrawal of all foreign troops and is in talks with the Americans about their role once the United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.

British forces have been based in the south of the country since the invasion in 2003.
The situation has changed dramatically in Basra since the Iraqi government took on the local militias earlier this year. As a result, the British presence in Basra could be all but over by next summer.

Douglas Alexander in Basra

Britain's International Development Minister, Douglas Alexander, is here flying the British flag.

He told me: "We'll continue to work closely with the government of Iraq but we will see a significant drawdown of British troops as a recognition of the progress and success that's been enjoyed here in Basra….

"We are looking ahead to the first half of 2009 but our focus on the moment is securing the possibility that I've seen today which is for further jobs, further investment, further prosperity."
More immediately, it is believed the process of handing over Basra airport and airspace to the Iraqis will begin within weeks. And American forces will soon take over camp security.

It is also thought that large security projects will be taken over by the Iraqis and Americans, working together.

Major James Gasson-Hargraves, the commander here, says the Iraqis are eager to take control.
"The reality is they are the sheriffs of this town, they own it. The townspeople come to them with their issues, not to me. I'm merely here in the background as support and the Iraqis are on top of where they're going."

Back in March, the Iraqi government's so-called 'charge of the knights campaign' to clear out the militias that had taken over the city was the catalyst for change.

It also convinced some in Baghdad that the British forces were dispensable.

Five years after their arrival here the end game is now being played out.

Read the full report and more on Sky News

'Time right' for Iraq task change

The outgoing commander of British forces in Iraq has hinted at the possibility of reductions in the number of British troops in Basra.

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