Progress in Iraq? Not unlike Afghanistan, the West has empowered warlords to control the country. “Victory” can be declared (with Iraqi civilians now living under a new kind of Saddam-like hell):
Warlords and criminal gangs dominate Basra amid growing concern that British forces have failed to create the conditions needed for political and economic reconstruction, warns an influential committee of MPs.
Gordon Brown’s decision to cut troop numbers to just 2,500 next Spring could leave the Army unable to do more than defend itself, putting the value of its presence in Iraq “open to question”, the MPs will say today.
The report by members of the all-party Commons defence committee welcomed falls in the number of attacks on British troops since they withdrew from the centre of Basra in the summer. But they noted that attacks on civilians in Basra had not declined and said security in the city was only maintained by warlords.