British Soldier, engulfed in flames, escapes his tank while attacked by an Iraqi mob.
Disturbing footage coming out of Basra in the British-occupied zone of southern Iraq points to a breakdown in the rule of law in that city.
Recently, the relatively quite southern zone has seen an upsurge in violence. An Al-Qaida group operating in the area has referred to the British soldiers as "crusaders". With an al-Qaida presence and bomb material coming in from neighboring Iran, Iraq is clearly the frontline in the War on Terror (War on Jihad). It is no longer tenable for partisan pundits to claim that Iraq is somehow disconnected from the War on Terror.
Senior British sources have commented in recent weeks that they have not excluded the possibility of a rise in violence in southern Iraq during the campaigning for the constitutional referendum.
They will now be trying to ascertain whether recent attacks are the start of that trouble. They are also concerned that the insurgents may be changing their tactics.
Better explosives and detonators are thought to have been coming over the border from neighboring Iran.They are not just enabling more numerous attacks, but also ensuring greater effectiveness.
British forces have been used to patrolling Basra without helmets, projecting an image of friendliness, believing that will win over the local population. Surely, this 'kindler gentler' waging of war favored by Tony Blair's New Labour government must end given the mob attacks on British patrols.
Earlier, two white Britons wearing Arab clothing shot at an Iraqi Police group in Basra. It is suspected that the Britons are special forces officers on a covert operation. London-based Iraq watchers have confirmed that the Iraqi security forces in Basra have been infiltrated by Ba'athist elements, supportive of Sadaam Hussein, and by agents of the Shia Mehdi Army, loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. It is possible that the British operatives may have pinpointed insurgents within the Iraqi police force.
Reports from the ground are conflicting, but the two Britons were arrested and detained by the Iraqi police in Basra. While the British Ministry of Defence claims that negotiations secured the transfer of the British citizens to UK custody, eyewitness accounts state that several British tanks attacked the Iraqi police station and bulldozed a wall in order to rescue them.
The viciousness of the Shi'ite mobs rioting upon news of the arrest of the two Britons coupled with the Basra Governor's hostility and lack of cooperation with the British Army points to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Coalition and the local Iraqi authorities in southern Iraq. This disturbing development shows that the Coalition cannot rely on the Iraqi security forces in the foreseeable future.
Perhaps the best Exit Strategy is for the United Kingdom and the United States to crush the insurgency and then get out. It would behoove the supporters of the Coalition operation in Iraq to now drop the "nation-building" rhetoric.
In other developments:
- Iraq's Finance Minister, Ali Allawi, tells the UK's Independent newspaper that large-scale corruption in Iraq's ministries, particularly the defence ministry, has led to the theft of more than $1bn;
- The Iraqi government says a nephew of Saddam Hussein, Ayman Sabawi, has been sentenced to life in prison for funding Iraq's insurgency;
- Al-Qaida says it was behind the 7 July bombings in London, in which 52 people were killed.
Certainly these latest developments are very troubling, as teamwork with the locals is critical.
We need to leave from a position of strength, but eventually we are going to have to leave the peace keeping operations behind. I am growing concerned that Bush knows that his base won't appear too disloyal during a war/conflict, and that he is using this to get away with stuff like the border, the budget, etc, and other conservative failures. I may be being too cynical, but it is not a pleasant thought.
Posted by: Zach | 19 September 2005 at 07:39 PM