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10/09/2007
US Delayed Withdrawal Of British Troops
Britain's withdrawal of its troops from Basra was delayed by five months because of political pressure from the United States for them to stay, according to the UK's top military commander in Iraq.
Brigadier James Bashall, the commander of 1 Mechanised Brigade, said that quitting the city in April would have been the "right thing to do".
American officials have accused Britain of accepting defeat in southern Iraq and watching Basra descend into "all-out warfare".
They are also likely to anger families of servicemen and women who have been killed or wounded in Basra since April.
Brigadier Bashall said Basra was in relative calm in April following a security crackdown known as Operation Sinbad, and that this would have been the best time to leave.
He said: "In April, we could have come out and done the transition completely and that would have been the right thing to do politics prevented that. The Americans asked us to stay for longer."
A spokesperson for the MoD said: "The decision to hand over Basra Palace was part of a conditions-based transition, developed in consultation with the Iraqi government and our coalition partners.
"We handed Basra Palace over this month only when the conditions were right and the Iraqi forces were ready to take over.
"The government of Iraq decided in May it wanted to keep Basra Palace, and it then took time to form and train the Iraqi Palace Protection Force to the point that it could take over Basra Palace."
(CD/SP)
Brigadier James Bashall, the commander of 1 Mechanised Brigade, said that quitting the city in April would have been the "right thing to do".
American officials have accused Britain of accepting defeat in southern Iraq and watching Basra descend into "all-out warfare".
They are also likely to anger families of servicemen and women who have been killed or wounded in Basra since April.
Brigadier Bashall said Basra was in relative calm in April following a security crackdown known as Operation Sinbad, and that this would have been the best time to leave.
He said: "In April, we could have come out and done the transition completely and that would have been the right thing to do politics prevented that. The Americans asked us to stay for longer."
A spokesperson for the MoD said: "The decision to hand over Basra Palace was part of a conditions-based transition, developed in consultation with the Iraqi government and our coalition partners.
"We handed Basra Palace over this month only when the conditions were right and the Iraqi forces were ready to take over.
"The government of Iraq decided in May it wanted to keep Basra Palace, and it then took time to form and train the Iraqi Palace Protection Force to the point that it could take over Basra Palace."
(CD/SP)
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