What will happen when Brits leave Basra?

A year ago, Iraq's security forces often had to fire on their own troops instead of fighting the supposed enemy.

Some 2,000 policemen defected to an Islamic militia and another 4,000 were sacked for alleged spying.

Yet, in just a few months, the burden of policing Iraq's second city will fall squarely on homegrown recruits as Britain's 4,000-strong force withdraws.

Many of their senior officers served under Saddam Hussein but they are described cautiously as 'Iraqi-good-enough' by Lt Col Jonny Price, one of 850 British soldiers advising the Iraqis.

He admits there is distrust between Iraqi soldiers and police officers but adds: 'They've come a long way. They're human rights-compliant, relatively well-trained, quite fit and reasonably well-paid.'

The trainees, based at Camp Saad outside Basra, have seized 2,758 weapons since June, making 441 arrests.

Col Price described their commander as 'a bit of a despot' but said he was generally 'a good man'.
Abdul, a lieutenant in the new army, told me: 'People can go out at nights now, walk the streets or markets in safety. Soon Iraq will be as normal as anywhere else.'

But many recruits face intimidation for joining up – and most will be glad to see the back of the Brits.

Policeman Akeel Abdel Hassan said: 'The British did a lot but we still look at them as occupation forces. We would like them to leave now so we can feel we're an independent country again.'

Iraqi army ready to take control of Basra

In Basra, reporter Paul Bradley joined the British and Iraqi Armies on patrol in the heart of the war-torn city. After six years in the country the Iraqis are preparing to take responsibility for security when the Brits leave in the summer.

The Iraqi army is now in a position to take control of Basra without the help of British troops, a senior Iraqi Army officer said yesterday.

In an interview with the Birmingham Post from his compound in Basra city, the intelligence officer, who did not wish to be named, said the Iraqi army is now “80 percent of the way there” when it comes to security.

But he added that there was still plenty of work to be done after the British troops leave, as terrorists from neighbouring countries crossed the “unsecure” borders and used new explosive devices to disrupt the peace.

Since the Charge of the Knights offensive in March 2008, a major operation to clear the city of terrorist factions, British troops have been mentoring the Iraqi Army in Basra.

The Queen’s Royal Hussars, who mainly come from the West Midlands, took up the role in November and are now preparing to hand over to the Iraqi Army for the first time.

They have taught the Iraqi soldiers how to patrol effectively, carry out operations to seize weapons and arrest insurgents, and set up check points in a bid to prevent rocket attacks.

Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Coles, from Tenbury, Worcestershire, said: “The Iraqi Army are now well in control of things here and we are only needed to go out and support them now.

“It is no longer on a level where we teach the Iraqi soldiers how to do their job.

“It’s strategic guidance on a one-to-one level at the top end of the hierarchy.

“It’s a testament both to the Iraqis and the British soldiers that the Iraqi Army are so widely supported by the Iraqi people. They know that the Iraqi Army will come down extremely heavily on anyone who fires a rocket in the city.

“We are confident that they are ready for us to leave and that they have a very good handle on security.”

Getting the city up and running on a civilian level is a primary aim.

Although a lot of work has been done building schools, orphanages and even football pitches, the British Army want the Iraqis to have their “fingerprints” on the reconstruction of the city.

The senior Iraqi intelligence officer, added: “Under Saddam Hussein we had no satellites, mobile phones or internet.

“Now we have all of those things.

“People are not afraid to express themselves anymore and they feel happy criticising the Government.

“That was impossible before 2003.

“Even in the army, under Saddam, soldiers did not know why they were fighting or what for.”

RAF team lose to Iraqi Police Service in football tournament - Scotsman

A SIX-A-SIDE football tournament involving British and local forces in Basra has been won by one of the home teams.
The competition was sponsored by the Premier League, which provided football strips, and the winners were the Iraqi Police Service, who played as Wigan.

They beat 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, Royal Air Force, playing as Sunderland, 2-0 in the final.

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

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."

The competition, played yesterday on the Contingent Operating Base (COB), took the 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.

Three teams entered from the Iraqi Army and one each from the Iraqi Air Force, Police, and Department of Border Enforcement.

Teams from KBR and Turners, two civilian engineering companies employed on the COB, also entered teams.

In order to decide which team would wear which strip the organisers held a charity auction during which the teams bid for their favourite strip.

The auction raised a total of 6,115 US dollars (£4,300) for the competition's chosen charity, Project 65.

This figure was matched by the Premier League, so the donation to Project 65 was 12,230 US dollars (£8,600).

Project 65 has been 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 the first combat operation of D-Day 65 years ago. These are 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.

It will be put up in front of the original bridge within the grounds of the Memorial Pegasus Museum.

The remainder of the money raised will be split between various service charities.

The teams that entered were as follows:

Manchester United – 5th Battalion The Rifles
Liverpool – 1st Royal Tank Regiment
Aston Villa – Queen's Royal Hussars
Chelsea – 200 Signals Squadron, Royal Signals
Arsenal – Royal Artillery
Everton – KBR (civilian)
Wigan Athletic – Iraqi Police Service
West Ham United – Royal Military Police
Manchester City – 1 Logistic Supply Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
Fulham – 1st Battalion Princess of Wales Royal Regiment
Sunderland – 903 Expeditionary Air Wing, Royal Air Force
Hull City – 35 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers
Newcastle – 52 Brigade Iraqi Army
Bolton – Department of Border Enforcement
Portsmouth – Turners (civilian)
Tottenham Hotspur – UK Medical Group
Stoke City – 50 Brigade Iraqi Army
Blackburn – 51 Brigade Iraqi Army
Middlesbrough – 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment
West Bromwich Albion – Iraqi Air Force.

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.

British forces to withdraw in April

MOHAMMED ABBAS
Reuters

Britain will begin withdrawing its remaining 4,000 combat troops from Iraq at the end of March, six years after helping to topple Saddam Hussein as Washington's main ally in the U.S.-led invasion.

The withdrawal of combat troops stationed in the southern city of Basra is due to be completed by the end of July. A residual presence of a few hundred personnel will stay on to train Iraqi police, a British military spokesman in Basra said.

The 2003 invasion unleashed widespread sectarian killing, and the war in Iraq has proven both costly and unpopular for the United States and Britain. Violence has since dropped sharply in the past year, and foreign troops are preparing to leave.

U.S. President Barack Obama said last month that the United States will withdraw around 100,000 troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010, leaving a force of up to about 50,000.
“The gradual drawdown will start from March 31. We will cease operations around May 31 ... All the combat forces, about 4,000 troops, must be out of Iraq by the end of July,” British military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dickie Winchester said.

The U.S. military will send some 900 military police to Basra to lead police training, part of U.S. plans to open a headquarters there to command its forces in southern Iraq, Mr. Winchester said.
Iraqi forces are responsible for security in the south.

“A U.S. headquarters will be established here. The U.S. headquarters will take command of the south of Iraq,” he said, speaking by telephone from Basra.

Britain sent 46,000 troops to the Gulf for the 2003 invasion. British troops once controlled the southern oil-rich province of Basra, but withdrew to Basra airport in 2007, leaving Iraqi forces to take control of security.

Basra was once overrun by gangs and militias vying for its oil wealth, but is now relatively calm after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a security crackdown last year.

Iraqi forces sent to restore order found themselves shooting at gunmen in police uniform, and the British military has said restoring confidence in Basra's police is key to stability.

“The Iraqi army is ready (and) capable of securing Basra ... The police will still continue to be trained,” Mr. Winchester said.

Iraqi army 'ready and able' - BBC Online

Paul Adams BBC News, in Basra

In the first entry of his week-long diary, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams joins British troops on a raid near Basra as they witness the progress made by the Iraqi Army.
Up before dawn as word comes of an Iraqi army search operation at Az-Zubeir, south east of the city.

The operation involves 50 Iraqi Army Brigade, who our British hosts from the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment are mentoring, so we are invited along to watch.

We race through the deserted streets of Iraq's second largest city, not really knowing what the morning will hold.

The British MiTTs (Military Transition Teams) are not here to direct Iraqi army operations - those days are long gone - but to observe and offer discreet advice.

To keep a low profile, the Brits leave their imposing Mastiff armoured personnel carriers behind and ride in soft-skinned Iraqi jeeps.

They do not want to draw attention to themselves, a lesson from the days when highly visible British soldiers became a magnet for militia attacks.

The job of "mitting" will end soon, probably well before the final British departure date of 31 July, and this certainly feels like the beginning of the end.

Help and equipment

Britain's role in training and mentoring the 14th Iraqi army division is almost done. As this morning's display shows, the Iraqis are organising and conducting their own operations with minimal British support.

To be sure, an RAF Lynx flies up and down the road as we near az-Zubeir, and an occasional whine gives away the presence overhead of a tiny British drone, a Desert Hawk.

Britain is still providing the sort of help and equipment the reconstituted Iraqi armed forces cannot muster.

But as the true size of the raid becomes apparent, causing astonishment among the British soldiers watching, it seems clear the Iraqi army is operating with considerable confidence.
Or at least that is the impression it hopes to convey.

As the sun comes up over the desert, our convoy stretches as far as the eye can see.
It seems that 14 Division has thrown almost everything it has into the operation.
It unfolds at a fairly leisurely pace, with several U-turns and, when we reach the town, a lot of standing around. But the British are still impressed.

"They've got it pretty well locked down," remarks Maj Adrian Grinonneau as we pass street after street blocked off by armoured vehicles and well-armed Iraqi troops.

"This is unprecedented from our viewpoint," he says as more and more troops arrive.
And to emphasise that, this is an Iraqi operation through and through. He adds: "We're not giving them guidance, we're not giving them direction. Operationally, they're mustard [sharp]."
The search, in a dirt poor town with a reputation for lawlessness and violence, yields dozens of weapons, from an ageing Sten gun to an assortment of Kalashnikovs. More than 120 weapons in all.

Some of the house searches look a little staged for our camera and the town's sleepy atmosphere seems at odds with the overwhelming military presence.

But with just five days to go before Iraq's important provincial elections, it seems the army is glad and able to make a big statement. And for the watching Brits, that means that it'll soon be time to go home.

See the report on the BBC website here

UK troops in festive mood in Iraq - BBC

By Caroline Wyatt BBC News, in Basra

A group of recruits stand stiffly to attention at their passing-out parade on a parade ground in the centre of a burnt-out, bombed military academy in Basra.

Their uniforms are a hotch-potch of different desert camouflage, but all stand with pride as they are awarded their end-of-course medals.

These are Iraqi soldiers, junior NCOs (non-commissioned officers), passing out under the watchful eyes of their British army mentors from the Queen's Royal Hussars (QRH), who look on with equal pride.

"They're every bit as good as some of ours - and some of them are better," says the Regimental Sergeant Major Ian Hammond.

Few of the young Iraqis speak much English, but the two sides seem to share a common military language.

There is a real sense of achievement here, and mutual respect between two armies which only five years ago stood to fight against one another.

British back-up

The training of Iraq's new army will be one of Britain's lasting legacies in Basra.
One recruit, Sgt Adel al-Baidhani, even wants his British mentors to stay on longer.

His ears were cut off on the orders of Saddam Hussein as a punishment for deserting the Iraqi army in the 1990s. A British plastic surgeon later helped repair the damage, offering pioneering surgery.

Sgt al-Baidhani has just been given the passing-out prize for being the best young sergeant. He was keen to join the new army.

"The Iraqi army is strong now, and it has good leadership but it's not ready to defend the country on its own yet.

For the full article click here for the BBC website

General Andy Salmon - walk about in Al Qurnah

General Officer Commanding (GOC) Multi-National Division South East, Major General Andy Salmon, walked around the town of Al Qurnah near Basra this week, and shared a meal with the market traders.

Al Qurnah is a large town some 45 miles (72 kilometres) north west of Basra and is the administrative centre for the area. It sits at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and acts as the main hub for routes into Maysan province.Maj Gen Salmon's visit can be seen as another sign of the ever increasing security improvements in Iraq.

He met with local traders in the Alwat fish market and on the streets during his walkabout around the town. A locally cooked lunch of rice and fish was prepared and shared with the local elders and members of the Military Transition Team drawn from UK Forces.

At the lunch the GOC emphasised to key leaders that they had a pivotal role, along with the Iraqi Army, in maintaining the security of the area.

The improved situation then allows reconstruction efforts and economic activity to flourish.The visit was hosted by Colonel Kathem, the Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion, 52nd Brigade Iraqi Army, and, illustrating the confidence now placed in the Iraqi Army, protection was provided for Maj Gen Salmon's visit by this unit.

Brits hand operation center over to Iraqis

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

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

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

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

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

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

Iraqi Army Search Op

Iraqi soldiers from the 50th and 51st Brigades were bolstered by commandos when they carried out a cordon and clear operation in the Hamden industrial estate. The search was aimed at disrupting any militia activity in this thriving area of Southern Basra.

During the search, workers continued their day to day business in garages and shop stalls. The soldier’s presence also gave workers a chance to highlight any concerns they might have about local services. One of the Iraqi officers in charge stated that these searches are welcomed as the local businesses also look forward to ongoing stability in the area.

Iraqi Police and Army join forces in Basra

New Joint Security Stations for the Iraqi Police Service and Iraqi Army, from which the two forces will conduct joint patrols, have opened in the al Hussein area of Basra this week.

Major General Andy Salmon General Officer Commanding Multi National Division (South East) shakes hands with Major General Aziz General Officer Commanding 14th Division Iraqi Army at the Joint Security Station in the Hyyanniah district of Basra [Picture: LA (Phot) Jannine B Hartmann]

The creation of the Joint Security Stations (JSSs) marks a new period of co-operation and closer working between the two security forces. The stations will provide community bases from which the Iraqi Police Service and Iraqi Army will plan and conduct security patrols together, enabling a sustainable and permanent security solution for the people of Basra.
Full article on the MOD website - click here



Iraqi army and police join forces in Basra - Middle East Times