Quote:
Mr Sadr's remarks echo those of senior British military commanders who have come to view the mission of UK forces in Iraq as finished. They have reportedly told the Prime Minister Gordon Brown there is nothing more to be achieved in southern Iraq and that troops should be redeployed to Afghanistan.
But, the British command has a different spin on it, predictably.
Quote:
Asked about the claims, Major Mike Shearer said al-Sadr wanted to claim victory as British troops took part in a planned withdrawal.
"The malign influences in the city, we have always predicted, would raise their game to create the false impression that they were driving us out," he said. "That is not the case. The reality is it makes sense, the closer we get to achieving Iraqi control in Basra province, that we reduce our operational footprint in the city and allow the Iraqi security forces to take the lead in policing security of their own city."
"The malign influences in the city, we have always predicted, would raise their game to create the false impression that they were driving us out," he said. "That is not the case. The reality is it makes sense, the closer we get to achieving Iraqi control in Basra province, that we reduce our operational footprint in the city and allow the Iraqi security forces to take the lead in policing security of their own city."
Yeah, leave the area peacefully under Muqtada al-Sadr and the Mahdi army. Mission accomplished!
