British Troops Pull Out Of Basra

Curfew In Iraqi Port City As Troops Withdraw To Air Base On Outskirts

(CBS/AP)  Iraqi soldiers hoisted the nation's flag over the Basra palace compound Monday after British troops withdrew from their last garrison in the city, a move that will hand control to an Iraqi force riddled with Shiite militiamen.

A British statement said the operation began late Sunday night "with all British troops arriving at the airport by midday" Monday.

"There were no clashes or attacks on British forces during the operation. The formal handing-over of the Palaces will happen in the near future," British spokesman Maj. Matthew Bird said.

The withdrawal ended Britain's permanent presence in Iraq's second largest city and paved the way for further troop cuts.

A curfew was imposed as around 550 soldiers moved from the downtown Basra Palace on Sunday to join 5,000 other personnel at an air base camp on the fringes of the port city.

The decision to leave the palace compound - targeted by daily mortar and rocket attacks - will hand military commanders the option of pulling around 550 troops out of Iraq in the autumn, lawmakers said.

According to CBS News correspondent Larry Miller, reports indicate Britain is ready to pull out most of its 5,500 troops from Iraq, and that government officials have decided to hand over complete control of Basra to Iraqi security forces as early as next month.

Monday's pullout of Basra will also prompt renewed questions over the future of Britain's role in Iraq, though Prime Minister Gordon Brown has refused to set any timetable for the eventual withdrawal of all British forces.

"We're withdrawing personnel," said a British defense ministry spokesman, on customary condition of anonymity. "It's been our long-planned intention to leave the palace."

Defense officials said the complete withdrawal of forces from the base could be completed by Monday and confirmed U.S. officials had been consulted.

In a statement, the defense ministry said it expected to hand over all security responsibilities for the Basra province to Iraqi forces by the autumn.

Brown, who is due to set out future strategy for British operations in Iraq in a speech to parliament next month, was aware of the operation, a government official said.

Ex-leader Tony Blair's decision to cut troop numbers in Iraq from 7,000 to 5,500 in February included an option of pulling out around 500 more soldiers once Basra Palace is handed back to Iraqis.

"The decision is an Iraqi-led initiative and is part of a Coalition-endorsed process," Britain's defense ministry said in a statement.

British forces will operate from Basra Air Station, but "retain security responsibility for Basra until we hand over to provincial Iraqi control, which we anticipate in the autumn," the statement said.

A spokesman for Brown's Downing Street office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it had "always been our intention to draw down troops in Basra" as Iraqi army and police become ready to handle security duties.

The base, one of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's opulent homes, has been used by Britain to house soldiers and diplomatic staff since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

"This is not an unexpected move, but the families of the service personnel involved will want to know that every possible precaution has been taken to maximize their safety during this period," opposition Conservative party lawmaker Liam Fox said.

U.S. officials have raised concerns about the prospect of British troops leaving the city, which has seen rival armed militia groups battle for control since the fall of Saddam.

The International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said in a June that unconstrained militias were destabilizing Basra and that locals believed British forces had been driven out.

"Relentless attacks against British forces in effect had driven them off the streets into increasingly secluded compounds," the report said. "Basra's residents and militiamen view this not as an orderly withdrawal but rather as an ignominious defeat."

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane, who was vice chief of staff at the time the Iraq war was launched in 2003, said in an interview last week that London had never deployed enough troops to properly stabilize the region and allowed a bad security situation to deteriorate.

Officials in Washington are likely to have sought assurances that any withdrawal of British troops will not impact on the security of land supply lines from Kuwait to Baghdad.

"This is a thoroughly sensible military decision," said opposition Conservative lawmaker Patrick Mercer. "It will allow more troops to be withdrawn from Iraq in the autumn, just as Britain increases its numbers of troops in Afghanistan."

[bradosol]

"dumbshun"

Was it intentional that you quoted Churchill''s ''we shall never surrender'' on the exact anniversary of Britain''s entry into WWII -
3rd September 1939?

If so, you don''t know much. That famous declaration was the climax of a speech in 1940 defying the Nazis'' threat to invade and occupy us here in Britain.

In Iraq, we''re the invaders and occupiers!

By the way, if you want a good chicken joke, read Churchill''s 1941 address to the Canadian parliament.

[jester188]

dumbshun ... well at least the ''dumb'' in your name is accurate...

the British accomplished what we set out to do... built up the Iraq people to handle their own country... now that it has been accomplished they can take control... your simplistic mind shows in this as you make no mention of other involvments the British have... that is the whole point of this.. so these people can regain control of their own country...

personally i don''t think you really know what is going on in the world...

[lars008-2009]

Posted by skyk at 08:27 PM : Sep 03, 2007

hahahaha

where is the un resolution authorizing afghanistan nancy...

where is the un resolution authorizing bosnia nancy...

are you calling al bore a liar nancy???

[skyk-2009]

lars, Sir Lies-A-Lot LIED to the world and yes the war in Iraq IS and WAS Illegal. The UN did NOT approve the US inforcing the Resolution passed by the UN. The UN and the ENTIRE World wanted to give the Inspectors time to check for WMD''s. Bush lied to them and us, saying he could NOT wait, that HE had the "smoking gun" and had no choice but to attack. That was a LIE and that was ILLEGAL by International Law.

[skyk-2009]

Cut-and Run? When you can''''t stand the heat, quit! Surrender to Terrorists? All the Brits have done is to send a clear signal to the Terrorists "We are chicken!" Wonder what Winston Churchill would be thinking in his grave! His famous saying "We shall NEVER SURRENDER" appears to be falling on ''''Deaf Eared Chickens''''!...Sign of the Times?
Posted by dumbshun at 05:48 PM : Sep 03, 2007

Now the LAST time I checked this nation belonged to the PEOPLE of IRAQ and according to the story those PEOPLE assumed control of the area the British left. I assume from your post you are just one of the simple minded one''s, those who, for what reason is beyond me, believed that Iraq had something to do with the attack on us or was attacked someway to Bin Laden... I guess YOU didn''t get the memo for the Reich... IT WAS A LIE, you pathetic LOSER.. A LIE!! The British were our ONLY ally but the PEOPLE of that nation, like the PEOPLE here, want their military out. Their leaders LISTEN to their people... we have a DICTATOR who does NOT.

[j-whitman]

leftyintexas,,, Yep make him the Iraq Poster Boy -- Hell dude they still can''t provide enough security in Baghdad to stop the looting of the Baghdad Museum or much else.

[lars008-2009]

Posted by chicagopoet at 11:17 AM : Sep 03, 2007

hahahaha

the war is legal

the resumption of hostilities was only a matter of time since iraq broke the ceasefire agreement.....

blame saddam for iraq%u2026%u2026. Even clintoon and the dems wanted the resumption of hostilities back in 1998

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq''s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

Moreover, no international law can prevent the United States from taking actions to protect its vital interests, when it is manifestly clear that there is a choice to be made between law and survival. I believe, however, that such a choice is not presented in the case of Iraq. Indeed, should we decide to proceed, that action can be justified within the framework of international law rather than outside it. In fact, though a new UN resolution may be helpful in building international consensus, the existing resolutions from 1991 are sufficient from a legal standpoint. - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/gore/gore092302sp.html

[jetranger7]

Well I agree this Iraq War has been a total Joke from the get go, I do feel however that that Raghead Saddam did need to be taken out ,,however, but that should of been it . Then we should of moved on to you know who, and continued the chase and the hunt however, but thats hard to do,, I''d Imagine, when he''s probably fishing on a pond down in Crawford, or riding horses in the mountains in Wyoming !! or helping to repaint the Oval Office dressed as a painter !!! Yip, something Mighy Fishy goin on here Folks, do believe I smell a Raghead in the wood pile !!!

[chicagopoet]

This entire war has been illegal from the get go. Bush fabricated evidence to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, misled the people by telling them Iraq had ties to Al Qaida and was responsible for 9/11, use fear mongering to silence the protest, illegally invaded a sovereign nation, killed tens of thousands of people, deBa-athatized the entire country leaving millions unemployed, disbanded the Iraqi army angering a half million heavily armed people (causing the insurgancy), and literally hung Saddam Hussain with a rope from the rafters after a phony trial. WHAT HAS OUR COUNTRY BECOME? End the war. John Edwards has a plan to end the war

[lars008-2009]

LOOK WHO IS TARGETING CIVILIANS!!!

Qaeda warns of attacks ''worse than 9/11''
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070530102648.wuwa6k96&show_article=1

Hizbullah Deputy Sec-Gen Sheikh Naim Qassem: We Have Jurisprudent Permission to Carry Out ''Martyrdom'' Operations, Fire Missiles on Israeli Civilians From Ayatollah Khomeini
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD154907

Switching Sides: Inside The Enemy Camp

But then in 2000, well before his arrest, something happened which would make Abas question everything he believed in: a fatwa, a religious edict, was issued by Osama bin Laden.

"It should be understood that killing Americans and Jews anywhere found are the highest act of worship and the highest form of good deeds in the eyes of Allah," Simon quotes bin Laden.

Abas and his fellow commanders were ordered to read the fatwa to their men and make sure they carried it out. The others obeyed, but Abas refused. It was his moment of truth. He firmly believed that jihad was to be fought only on the battlefield in defense of Islam; he had always been taught that the killing of civilians had nothing to do with holy war and that it was forbidden.

The fatwa justified killing non-Muslim civilians everywhere.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/04/60minutes/main2761108.shtml?source=RSSattr=60Minutes_2761108
American Al Qaeda Member Threatens Attack
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/29/terror/main2865282.shtml