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April 19, 2004, Scotsman BRITISH TROOPS 'IN IRAQ FOR TEN YEARS' Gethin Chamberlain In Basra BRITISH troops may have to stay in Iraq for up to ten years to ensure security, the commanding officer of British forces in the southern Iraqi city of Basra told The Scotsman yesterday. Brigadier Nick Carter's warning came as the security situation in southern Iraq deteriorated after a day in which British troops came under sustained attack from supporters of the Shiite cleric Muqtadr al- Sadr, in the town of Al Amarah. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, yesterday admitted that the coalition underestimated how unstable the security situation in Iraq would become after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. To add to Mr Blair's concerns, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the new prime minister of Spain, announced he had ordered Spanish troops to be withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible. Speaking before the latest attacks in Iraq, Brig Carter admitted that local forces would not be capable of maintaining security on their own after the 30 June handover of power to an Iraqi government. He said: "You will get some policemen who will identify with Sadr and some who won't. "We are in cloud-cuckooland if we think we are going to create overnight a police force that is accountable to the population. Certainly for a number of years to come, Western forces are going to have to be there to support the police force." He added he was looking for a United Nations mandate to take action, on behalf of the Iraqi population, against those forces that continued to make trouble. "I have to be looking two, three, ten years out," he said. British forces might not be in the country in such numbers, but he believed they would be involved to some extent in assisting the new Iraqi security forces. "I think in terms of Western involvement in restructuring Iraq, we are talking many years. We have to build solid foundations now for the longer term." His comments come amid a period of increased violence in the southern sector of the country, which has been linked to the clash with militia forces loyal to Sadr. Paul Bremer, the senior United States' administrator in Iraq, last night echoed the brigadier's comments. Defending the continued involvement of United States troops in the country, he said Iraq's police and armed forces would not have the capability to secure the country from the threat of insurgents by 30 June. Troops from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment came under a prolonged assault from militia using machine guns and mortars near the town of Al Amarah in Maysan province, north of Basra, yesterday. At least one soldier suffered gunshot wounds. In a separate attack just north of Basra, a large British military convoy carrying Warrior armoured vehicles was attacked on the main Route 6 highway running up to Baghdad. British commanders are known to have been in contact with their US counterparts to urge caution in the handling of Sadr. The firebrand cleric has taken refuge in Najaf and it is feared that any attempt to take him by force could trigger a major revolt among Iraq's Shiite community, with Basra regarded as particularly vulnerable. Brig Carter said : "While they the wider Shia community regard Sadr as an upstart, they have some sympathy with his grievances. The Basra Shiite will see an attack on Sadr as an attack on the Shiites overall. He is becoming a bit of a talisman figure." Posters of Sadr have sprung up around Basra, where his firm stance has won the support of large numbers of moderate Shiites. In the last two weeks, one British soldier has lost a leg in a rocket -propelled grenade attack and British forces have come under repeated attack in and around Basra. "It has been quite a rough ride," the brigadier said. "There has been a degree of nervousness that has manifested itself in a number of attacks in Basra and Maysan. A variety of ne'er-do-wells and malcontents who would have had a go anyway have been able to use the Sadr cause to piggyback on." He said the trouble had come from predominately Shiite groups, influenced by what was happening in Najaf. And he said what happened next depended very much on the handling of the current situation. "It is a question of whether it is resolved by Iraqis. It should be resolved by the Iraqis," he said. "If the coalition feels it has to use force, it could be interesting. It is a very volatile country and we are only here because we have the support and consent of the population."
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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