LONDON, March 7: The transfer of Basra to Iraqi control would be dictated by conditions on the ground and not by the pre-determined timetable, asserted Basra Consul-General Rosalind Marsden while briefing media here on Wednesday at the Foreign and Commonwealth office.
Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons on Feb 21 that 1,500 soldiers would return to Britain within weeks, and 3,000 will follow suit by year-end. Britain has a contingent of 7,000 in Iraq now, based mostly in the southern city of Basra.
Conceding that the level of violence in Basra was still high and that the coalition forces still came under frequent rocket and mortar fire, the consul-general, who had just returned from Basra after a seven month tour of duty, said there were no easy solutions to Basra’s problems,
“They (the problems) cannot be fully addressed through external help alone. They require Iraqi commitment and Iraqi solutions,” she added, sounding visibly anxious at the inability of Iraqis to acquire the required technical and administrative capacities for the job in good time.
And perhaps in an attempt to reassure the Iraqi government she said the decision on the transition of individual provinces in Iraq was matter of the joint decision between the coalition forces and the government of Iraq with the Iraqi prime minister having the final say.
She said there were a number of important steps to be taken by the Iraqi national and provincial authorities for the transition to happen in the coming months.
“What we are doing is we are shaping our own military deployment on the ground so as to maximize our contribution to the prospects of successful transition, “she added.
She said after handing over those coalition bases which UK troops no longer needed after withdrawal of some 1600 troops, the personnel guarding these bases would be used as trainers for the Iraqi Army and the police.
She assured that even after ‘ this repositioning’ of the UK troops had taken place a substantial force would remain in Basra which she said reflected UK’s commitment to meeting the conditions for transfer of control to Iraqi authorities and helping them achieve sustainable self reliance.
Answering a question, a senior foreign office spokesman who accompanied the consul-general at the briefing said the March 10 meeting in Baghdad between Iraq and its neighbours would focus on getting the latter to reiterate their commitment to helping the Iraqi government in overcoming its domestic difficulties, especially the unending violence in its streets.
Referring to the recently concluded operation Sindbad in Basra, the consul-general said in this operation the coalition forces and the Iraqi security forces particularly the Iraqi Army worked through the city district by district.
“And one of the main benefit of that operation was that the Iraqi Army in Basra has gained a lot of experience in both of planning and carrying out joint operations along side the coalition forces and as a result of that they have gained in confidence,” she added.