Britain could hand back Basra 'in nine to 12 months'

LONDON (AFP) - British forces in Iraq could hand over responsibility for security in Basra province to the Baghdad government within as little as nine months, a senior British military commander has said.


Speaking to reporters in London on condition of anonymity Tuesday, the commander said that from a military point of view, a full handover of the southern province was "feasible" within nine to 12 months.

He also said British forces -- concentrated in southern Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003 -- could be cut from their current level of 7,000 troops to between 3,000 to 4,000 by the middle of next year.

However, any handover would depend on the security situation in Iraq, and on an agreement with the Iraqi government.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060822/wl_uk_afp/iraqmilitarybritain_060822121203

Lots of wishful thinking on the anonymous source, IMO. From last Thursday:

Violence rocks Basra, Mosul; Baghdad toll 21
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.aspx?cu_no=2&item_no=102972&version=1&template_id=42&parent_id=18

The mantra of the Bush regime.

L-

a month or two ago?

The spin is usually "the next six months will br critical." Now we're at 9 to 12 months?

They seem to have caught on to the fact that we've noticed everything is going to get better in six months (defined as "one Friedman" for New York Times editorial writer Thomas Friedman) and that we're watching now. Maybe they think we'll forget if the timeline is extended half a Friedman.

My first thought on seeing the headline was, "They going to hand over control of Basra, huh? To whom? The insurgents? Oh, the Baghdad government! Yeah, that could work."

No one believes one word of this crap.

The US is saying today it captured a bunch of real bad terrorists. Another often repeated meaningless statement to which no one pays attention. Again, why bother.

Perhaps the SAS should send some more of their trouble makers out and about Basra to stir up some shit, just in case things happen to quiet down.

You could win a million dollars!

For awhile now, I've said that we'll know when the Bush-bots are going to invade Iran by watching the British get out of the way first.

This guy is saying nine to 12 months, but if you see them suddenly moving before that, say in mid-November, you'll know what to expect.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain may cut its force in Iraq in half by the middle of next year after handing over security responsibility for the south to Iraqis within nine months, a senior British commander said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on condition he not be identified, the commander said Britain would leave "quite a significantly smaller force than we've got now, but probably in the region of 3,000 to 4,000 people based in a single location."

Britain handed over responsibility for one of the southern provinces it controls to Iraqi forces in July, and the commander said it hopes to hand over a second province next month.

Most of Britain's 7,000 troops in Iraq are based around the second city of Basra, where the commander said a transition to Iraqi control could take place in the first quarter of 2007.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/britain_iraq_dc

I doubt it was my uncle :eyes: