Basra police 'work for militias'

Source: BBC

Some Iraqi police officers in Basra are working for Shia Muslim militias and carrying out sectarian violence, the UK's chief police adviser has warned.

Mike Colbourne, assistant chief constable of Bedfordshire, admitted there were officers who were guilty of corruption, kidnap and murder.

But he said the situation was getting better and promised UK forces would not leave until Iraqis were ready.

He told BBC's The World at One "We know that there are bad apples."

Mr Colbourne said that in spite of an anti-militia drive by the new provincial director of police, Major General Jaleel Khalaf Shuwail, a number of officers were still linked to violence.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6957170.stm

Is being seen as the only way out of a failing policy.

Forum Name General Discussion
Topic subject Oh, and by the way, Basra's also fucked up.
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1622519#1622519
1622519, Oh, and by the way, Basra's also fucked up.
Posted by Cruzan on Mon Aug-20-07 07:43 AM

British forces useless in Basra, say officials

When America's top commanders in Iraq held a conference with their British counterparts recently, Major General Jonathan Shaw - Britain's senior officer in Basra - was quick to share his views on how best to conduct counter-insurgency operations.

For much of the last four years, the Americans in the room would have listened carefully, used to deferring to their British colleagues' long experience in Northern Ireland. This time, however, eyes that would once have been attentive simply rolled.


On the defensive: British troops face angry scenes in Basra

Few were in the mood for a lecture about British superiority, when they fear that Downing Street's planned pull-out from Basra will squander any progress from their own hard-fought "troop surge" strategy elsewhere.

"It's insufferable for Christ's sake," said one senior figure closely involved in US military planning. "He comes on and he lectures everybody in the room about how to do a counter-insurgency. The guys were just rolling their eyeballs. The notorious Northern Ireland came up again. It's pretty frustrating. It would be okay if he was best in class, but now he's worst in class. Everybody else's area is getting better and his is getting worse."

The meeting, called by General David Petraeus, the senior US officer who has the task of managing the surge, is emblematic of what is fast becoming a minor crisis in Anglo-American military relations.

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