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Iraq News Story

 30 August 2008 02:00 BST

Commander: US delayed Basra pullout

Monday, 10 Sep 2007 07:07
British forces have pulled out of Basra Palace and are now stationed at an airport on the outskirts of the province

Iraq In Focus 

The UK's army chief in southern Iraq, Brigadier James Bashall, has said that British troops delayed withdrawing from Basra palace due to US pressure.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the army commander said that the relocation to the province's airport could have taken place in April if it weren't for the request from American officials.

"In April we could have come out and done the transition completely and that would have been the right thing to do but politics prevented that. The Americans asked us to stay for longer," Brig Bashall said.

He added that political strategy "played out at the highest level" determined the date of the pullout from the southern province.

Brig Bashall also rejected claims that the army was pulling out of Basra as it had been defeated. He dismissed the claims as "nonsense".

He added that the British-held province was far ahead of other parts of the country in terms of transferring control duties to local forces.

"We have fought for last three months a very violent campaign against insurgents and we left on our own terms. We were definitely not defeated," said Brig Bashall.

He called for Iraqi politicians and military leaders to play a larger role in guaranteeing their country's security.

British forces handed over Saddam Hussein's former palace to Iraqi authorities last week, saying that it was a step towards the country's forces taking control of their security. However, British forces still retain responsibility for security in the province, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Speaking at the time of the announcement of the decision to relocate troops, foreign secretary David Miliband said: "Our decisions in Basra reflect the situation on the ground, above all the growing capacity of the Iraqi security forces, and are signed off by the coalition and the Iraqi government.

"We have been straightforward and committed at every stage and that is the sort of relationship that is valued," Mr Miliband stated.End of story


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