British Evacuate Their Troops From JCC اصوات العراق – القوات البريطانية تسحب قواتها من مركز التنسيق المشترك في البصرة

Both WNA and Aswat Al Iraq are reporting that the British have confirmed that in an operation yesterday evening they evacuated their troops from the joint coordination center located in the compound of the security police command in central Basra (the JCC in al-Hakimiyah). In an operation last night the British moved their troops out of the JCC and transferred them to the main British base in Basrah International Airport 25KM northwest of the city.  

The British denied that the evacuation is part of an operation to remove their forces  from Basrah saying that it was part of the planned handover of security functions to local forces.

So far this year the British have evacuated three of their bases around Basrah.

British occupation forces in Irak number about 5500 they withdrew 1600 soldier others in the past months.
Britain is the biggest partner of the United States in the occupation of Iraq and its troops were the second largest contingent participating in the American led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

وكالة الانباء الوطنية العراقية: القوات البريطانية تخلي قواتها من مركز التنسيق المشترك وسط مدينة البصرة
اصوات العراق – القوات البريطانية تسحب قواتها من مركز التنسيق المشترك في البصرة

See also: British troops on verge of long-awaited pullout from Basra
and:

• Troops withdraw from Basra base (BBC)
• US ‘will not stop’ British pull-out at Basra Palace – Independent Online Edition > Middle East
• Troops pay price for special relationship – Telegraph

  (both of last two are below.)

US ‘will not stop’ British pull-out at Basra Palace

By Marie Woolf, Political Editor

Published: 26 August 2007

British troops will withdraw to the last military stronghold in Iraq imminently, and will not be “swayed by domestic political considerations” – including relations with the US – senior government sources said yesterday.

Defence ministry insiders confirmed last night that Britain plans to stick to its timetable to pull out of its stronghold at Basra Palace “within days or weeks”, despite misgivings from US military and government figures that local Iraqi forces are not ready to take control.

US commanders in Baghdad want Britain to delay the pull-out of 500 British troops, fearing the Iraqi security services are not sufficiently well trained or equipped to control lawlessness.

But in frank discussions between British and American military commanders on the ground, Britain has made it clear it believes the Iraqis are perfectly capable of taking over as early as next week.

The pull-out to Basra airport will have a significant impact on the safety of British troops who are the target of increasingly frequent attacks.

“There are plans afoot for Basra Palace – that is a matter of days or weeks. We now feel we are ready to move out and the Iraqi security forces to take over. There is a very, very close consultation with the American high command in Baghdad. If they are saying we think we need another two weeks or months, we will take that on board, that’s part of the discussions. But in the end we will not be swayed by domestic political considerations,” said one senior UK source.

Relations with the US over British tactics in Basra have been strained since Jack Keane, a retired US general who has just returned from Iraq, said that the British were more focused on training Iraqi troops than keeping control of “deteriorating security”.

He compared the situation in Basra to “almost gangland warfare”, provoking an angry response from the Army spokesman in Basra, who said the UK was giving the Iraqis “space” to take the lead in policing the city

US ‘will not stop’ British pull-out at Basra Palace – Independent Online Edition > Middle East

Troops pay price for special relationship

By Tim Shipman, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 1:42am BST 26/08/2007

Iraq

An entire brigade of 3,500 US troops is being lined up to replace British forces as they pull out of southern Iraq, the Sunday Telegraph has learned.

The move, which will put an additional burden on US forces involved in the “troop surge” further north, risks plunging the special relationship between the British and American military to a new low, according to an advisor to President Bush.

Frederick Kagan, one of the architects of the surge strategy, warned that the British departure risked creating “bad feeling” among US troops, some of whom may face extended terms of duty as a result.

He spoke out after the deaths of three British soldiers in Afghanistan, killed by bombs dropped from a US aircraft, placed new strains on the alliance in the other main military theatre.

In an outspoken interview, Mr Kagan condemned British politicians for failing to understand how best to tackle Islamic extremists, and for refusing to increase the size of the Armed Forces so they could pull their full weight in Iraq.

Details of the number of US troops required to take over were disclosed by a senior British officer, who asked not to be named. He also revealed that commanders at the Ministry of Defence were “irritated” by the growing criticism from the US of their handling of Basra.

To fill the vacuum, US Army chiefs may have to break a promise not to extend operational tours in Iraq beyond the current 15 month maximum, or risk diverting a significant number of the extra soldiers currently in Baghdad for the troop surge.

Mr Kagan, who has just returned from Iraq, said: “The likeliest effect of British withdrawal from Basra is to keep an American unit in country for longer than they would like. I do worry about the short term effects on the relationship between the two countries. It will create bad feeling with American soldiers if they can’t go home because the British have left.”

His words are a new embarrassment for Gordon Brown at a time when the prime minister is determined to press ahead with troop reductions in Iraq.

The US soldiers are expected to move south early next year, when Downing Street hopes to begin a scale down that will lead to a complete departure. Iraqi sources last night confirmed earlier reports that Britain would pull its remaining 500 troops out of Basra Palace – the last remaining garrison in the city itself – in a matter of days, paving the way for a full scale withdrawal in the coming months.

But the British officer also added: “It’s clear from talking to the Americans that they are going to have to fill the gap we will leave.

“The feeling is that the moment the vacuum opens there the Iranian Revolutionary Guard will be in like a shot. The Americans are talking about sending a brigade, but it’s still fluid.”

The likely US presence in the south is smaller than the 5,500 strong British force currently deployed, but US brigades come with far more air power than their counterparts.

Mr Kagan said Britain had withdrawn its troops to barracks to avoid provoking insurgents, rather than working to help the local population throw out militants.

“That’s something that the British need to pay more attention to,” he said. “There has been a tendency to discount the possibility that counterinsurgency can do anything but stoke the flames of Islamic fury.

“I think that view helps to explain the lack of support for the war in Britain. The British premise has been that we need to reach out to moderate Muslims and get them to speak out against extremist ideology. But in Iraq people were not on their own able to stand up to the terrorists. We need to help them more directly.

“There’s obviously a lot of instability in Basra. But British troops, who I have a lot of respect for, have done relatively little to affect the situation.”

Without naming Mr Brown, he accused British political leaders of using Army overstretch as an excuse to withdraw from Iraq.

“Britain has a lot of problems, principally that their ground forces are too small and are now paying the price,” he said. “Strain on the military is a powerful enabler for anyone who wants to make the argument that we want to leave.”

The British officer said soldiers on the frontline in Iraq shared the frustration of US commanders that “they have not been allowed to do their job”.

He said: “At a regimental level they will be delighted to get out. Not because they’re tired or battle weary, but because they are fed up of being held in bases and getting shot at. In Afghanistan the casualty rate is higher but morale is also higher because we are doing a good job fighting the Taliban.”

Troops pay price for special relationship – Telegraph

Tags: Basrah, البصرة‎