Britain on the way out

Published 06 September 2007

Observations on Iraq

There is probably not a soldier in the army who will regret abandoning the Basra Palace, the blisteringly hot, inhospitable outpost that for more than four years has served as the British headquarters in southern Iraq.

But the statement from the Ministry of Defence announcing a "repositioning" of British forces, now concentrated at the Basra Air Station ten miles out of town in the desert, greatly understates what many regard as a critical turning point in Britain's involvement in the region.

The people of the Middle East have finely tuned political antennae. The bloodless but ignominious end to Britain's presence in the city was quickly digested across the Arab world as a signal that Britain no longer has the stomach for the Iraqi campaign and is on its way out, even as America is surging more troops into battle.

More important than any transatlantic differences is the impact on the area. Today, minds are concentrated on one struggle alone: Iran's attempt to expand its influence across the Arab world through its Islamic militant allies and Shia Muslim brethren.

Last year in Lebanon, Hezbollah, armed and financed by Tehran, battled the might of the Israeli army for nearly a month and was still standing at the end. This June, Hamas, also supported by Iran, seized control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody power struggle with Fatah.

Americans, Israelis and pro-western Arab regimes fear that Basra may have gone the same way. The city is not only Iraq's second largest, but it also controls the only access to the sea. It is the hub for Iraq's main oil reserves. It is only a few miles from the Iranian border.

Iran has been careful not to reveal the scale of its involvement in Iraq, but its fingerprints are everywhere. New weaponry made in Iran fills the militia arsenals. Money and training have flooded in. A source close to the Tehran leadership recently admitted that Iran supported the "resistance" against foreign occupation and felt obliged to protect fellow Shias from attacks by Sunnis.

A Kuwaiti friend, whose country is not far away, put it more simply: "Basra is an Iranian city now."

In tandem with these operations, Iran has been pressing ahead with its nuclear programme, which many suspect is a cover for building an atomic bomb.

The question in Arab capitals is whether Britain will simply bow out of the looming struggle. Britain sent warships during the Iran-Iraq war to protect oil tankers in the Gulf from Iranian attack. It was instrumental in driving Iraqi forces out of Kuwait and kept up the pressure on Saddam Hussein during the decade of sanctions. It played a crucial role in the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath.

That commitment now looks shaky. Since the Royal Navy was humiliated over the capture of 15 sailors and marines in contested Gulf waters, patrols have been reduced. With the withdrawal from Basra city and likely troop reductions to come, Britain's footprint will shrink even further.

It may suit Gordon Brown to extract himself from an unpopular war with a general election looming. But it would also make Britain a bystander in what promises to be one of the great foreign policy contests of our time.

And along with disengaging from the Middle East come political and economic costs. Britain's standing in the world is based partly on its involvement in the region. There is an unwritten agreement with Gulf Arab states that British military support can be counted on in return for lucrative defence contracts. When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia arrives in London next month, he is expected to sign a multimillion-pound arms deal. Without being explicit, he will want firm assurances that in a fresh crisis, Britain will be ready to help - rather than stand on the sidelines.

Richard Beeston is diplomatic editor of the Times

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2 comments from readers

Carl Jones
13 September 2007 at 08:58

Mr Beeston....does MI6 pay you to write this propaganda?

The United States is looking to attack/invade Iran. Britsh forces in Basra have been confined to barracks for years. I suppose you forgot about the SAS soldiers driving a white car dressed as Arabs who were asked to stop by Basra police? They failed to stop and the SAS openned fire killing several Iraqi`s/police. The car contained expolsives, remote detonators and weapons. They were captured and taken to Basra police station....at this point the British government and BBC/MSM slipped into serious lying mode. The British army arrived with tanks and smashed down the police station walls rescuing the SAS terrorists. This is only one incident among many involving SAS operations. US special forces have also been rumbled doing similar terrorist acts in Baghdad.

We could move onto the coalitions illegal soirees into Iran...Shat al Arab Waterway springs to mind!!

There was no British mission for Basra and the region, apart from supporting SAS chaos directed at Iraqi`s and the major NWO operations in Iran. The British "repositioning" of forces is likely to be connected to major US/Israeli operations against Iran.

The capture of 15 British sailors must have been by design...amazing that these small boats ventured so far ahead of what is a very fast naval ship....what was the ships radar doing and those pathetic excusses about the chopper. Maybe a decoy for a special forces mission?lol

"Lucrative defence contracts"....with thick brown evelopes no doubt. King Abdullah may well seek assurances...but he will being doing it for the Bush/Clinton neocon dynasty.

With the Western elite and Russians arming the region, it looks likely there will be a full scale Middle East war involving both Syria and Iran. In context to this possibilty, we should remember that all Middle East states are "client" states of the West...including Syria and Iran. Maybe they want a "Middle East Union" occupied by NWO NATO forces?

gnuneo
19 September 2007 at 04:15

disgraceful propaganda.

the time should have long gone that britain is willing to condemn its own soldiers and millions of 'johnny foreigner' to the hell of war for 'global influence'. And if the writer is so hell-bent on not missing out on "one of the great foreign policy contests of our time.", then perhaps he can enlist in one of the mercenary units himself, and leave our own volunteer army out of any further insanities.

its not a bloody game, this is a situation that has the potential to destroy both western and islamic civilisation, as well as ending ANY hope for averting massive climate change catastrophe.