Deal Stopped British Troops Entering Basra: Report
A deal involving the Mehdi Army and the British military stopped British troops deployed in Iraq from aiding allied forces involved in combat missions in Basra, the Times publication has reported.
The Times wrote that the agreement limited the entry into Basra of any British soldier unless the move was authorised by Des Browne, the British Defence Secretary.
The paper quoted comments attributed to US Marine Lieutenant Colonel Chuck Western, who said: "I was not happy".
Western added: "Everybody just assumed that because this deal was cut nobody was going in. Cutting a deal with the bad guys is generally not a good idea,"
In connection with the Times’ report, a spokeswoman for the MoD stated: "There was no "accommodation" which prevented UK troops from entering Basra - the reason why troops were not sent in immediately was because there was no structure in place in the city for units to go back in to start mentoring the Iraqi troops,"
Iraqi Offensive
The spokeswoman added that the offensive – named ‘Charge of the Knights’ and dating back to early 2008 – was "planned, led and executed by the Iraqis".
According to the Times, for nearly seven days, around 4,000 deployed British soldiers could only look on as US troops and their Iraqi counterparts were engaged in hostilities against insurgents in Basra. This situation, it said, was related to the deal, made with the al-Sadr-led Mehdi Army.
The same coverage also included quotes attributed to a “senior British defence source”, who spoke on the negative impact that the agreement had had.
“Maliki (Iraqi President) and the Americans felt the British were morally impugned by the deal they had reached with the militia", the figure commented, adding: "While we had a strategy of evasion, the Americans just went in and addressed the problem."
Source – Armed Forces International’s Political Correspondent
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