Laughable

By Cernig

That noted neocon think tank, the Heritage Foundation, has realised that Maliki didn't win in Basra. In that, at least, they're ahead of some of their compatriots.

Thirty-thousand Iraqi soldiers were sent into the city by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to retake control from the Mahdi Army led by Iranian-based firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, but they struggled to gain a foothold and defeat the heavily armed militias.

Al-Sadr has since declared a temporary cease-fire and has ordered his men off the streets, but there is no prospect that they will lay down their arms, and the militias remain in control of large swathes of Basra. There have been reports of some Iraqi forces either deserting or defecting to the Mahdi side. The fighting spread to other towns in the south, including Nasariyah and Hilla, as well as to Baghdad, with more than 250 people killed across Iraq and several hundred injured.

But their solution to the problem is laughable - Britain must mount a Surge into Basra! With what army?

with the possibility of a defeat for the Iraqi army, London will be faced with a difficult choice: to accelerate Britain's departure from southern Iraq or to stand and fight. It is the latter option that is the right strategic choice for Britain to make. Since pulling out of Basra last September, Britain has sent a half-hearted and weak message to terrorist groups operating in the south. That stance must change, and British forces must be given the freedom to actively engage and defeat the enemy.

Downing Street should reverse earlier plans to withdraw 2,500 British troops from Iraq in the spring and instead reinforce troop strength around Basra with the addition of at least 2,000 soldiers drawn from bases in Germany (where 15,000 troops are stationed). This would increase Britain's deployment in Iraq to more than 6,000.

The three British battle groups based outside of the city—the 1st Battalion Scots Guards with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armored vehicles, the 1st Battalion the Duke of  Lancaster's Regiment, and the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment—should be deployed inside Basra itself to inflict a decisive blow against the Mahdi Army. The Royal Air Force, with its 18 units in Iraq, should also play an active role in bombing raids against insurgents in and around Basra, alongside their U.S. counterparts.

This was published today, when it's already obvious that the Iraqi army and US forces alongside them cannot make anything other than token headway against the Mahdi militiamen. What effect a further two brigades worth of Brits, troops who will already be pissed off at broken promises that they were going home, would make is questionable at best.

But at it is Britain says it has no plans to listen to the heritage Foundation - and even the UK's Conservative Party are questioning the halt in troop reductions:

Responding to the announcement, shadow defence spokesman Liam Fox questioned the way British forces were being used in southern Iraq.

"It's surely not acceptable for us simply to end up mopping up, if we don't have a say in what operations are being carried out and how they're being carried out.

"It appears from what the Secretary of State has just told us that our commanders had only 48 hours notice (of the Iraqi offensive) and they yet had to deploy one battle group with tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery - is this an acceptable model for the future?"

No, Liam, it isn't.

Comments

[JohnShreffler]

Laughable indeed. In Iraq the Brits don't have a 2 brigade division but rather only one reinforced Mechanized Brigade, the 4th Mech Infantry Brigade, 5 battalions strong, 4 mech infantry , one armor. A drop in the bucket for Basra, and one with units already slated for Afghanistan. The Royal Army is teensy these days, and 5 battalions is big part of its order of battle, too much to risk, too little to do much good. The heavy tanks, Challenger 2's, would be hard to use in the back alleys where Sadr's men live. Remember the Israelis in South Lebanon in 2006 and the flamed out tanks? The Hezbollah is Sadr's advisor. Her Majesty's Army is sitting this one out.

[Steve Hynd]

You've got that right, John. I was basing the "2 brigades" on the Heritage's idea of a "Surge" to 6,000 total troops - but you're bang on about how useful big MBT's would be in Basra's alleys. As the USMC used to say "hunting tanks is fun and easy, in the right circumstances". Someone in Iraq, somewhere, must surely have read about the Russian defense of Stalingrad, even if Saddam hadn't.

Regards, C