ninme

Telegraph - We’re not wanted by the Iraqis - it’s time to go, by Con Coughlin

At the height of the fighting Brigadier Julian Free, commander of 4 Mechanised Brigade, flew by helicopter to Basra to see the Iraqi prime minister, but al-Maliki refused to see him. Instead Mr al-Maliki turned for help to the US 82nd Airborne Division, who acted as combat advisers and air controllers during the abortive offensive, which ended when al-Sadr ordered his militias to stop fighting.

Reports from Basra suggest that Mr al-Maliki is angry with the British for withdrawing from the centre of Basra last September, and that he is suspicious of the power base that General Mohan and his colleagues are building.

As a consequence, there is now little point in the 4,500-strong British military contingent stuck at the air base remaining in Iraq. British commanders find themselves in the untenable position where the Iraqi authorities whom they are supposed to be supporting will not talk to them - they also find that American troops have taken over their day-to-day duties.

The British military has argued that they would stay in Iraq provided there was general consent among the population. But now that is no longer the case, there is nothing to be gained by kicking their heels at Basra air base simply to save face.

We’ve reached the point where we’ve done as much as we can to help with the post-Saddam reconstruction of Iraq, and by staying on we risk over-staying our welcome.

Well, I think help with reconstruction would probably lead to a longer welcome. Or, you know, that’s what one would think.