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Brits Split

Brits are halving their force in Iraq. Tony Blair, who long fought within his own party to do the right thing in Iraq, is giving in to political forces he is no longer willing to fight.  He’s leaving himself soon enough, so he might as well set the terms for the British draw down, to leave a reaction force in Basra, rather than allow someone else to precipitate a total withdrawal.  At the Captain’s Quarters, Ed sees it as the natural denouement  of the mission.  I’m more inclined to agree with Daily Pundit, who calls it the beginnings of peace and run. With the Iraqi government in an unstable situation and a major confrontation shaping up with Iran in Iraq, the Shiite south should not be left without significant supervision.  Anymore than Baghdad or Anbar can be. 

Meanwhile, I’d like to note that one of our allies is taking the political heat, but apparently sticking with his plan to add more troops. John Howard says he won’t reduce Australia’s force in Iraq. Nor does that article indicate any change in the plan to send additional troops.

This Canberra Times commentary suggests Howard is still running on 2004 policy, forced to maintain his position, when if he wanted to add “spit and polish” to his national security credentials he’d redeploy Aussie troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. However, the writer in invoking the ISG’s drawdown plan neglects to note that Howard’s new deployment is entirely in keeping with the ISG recommendations.  A small addition of trainers, not combat troops.  So what’s the problem?  Maybe it’s not about “spit and polish.” Maybe its about honoring commitments, standing with your allies and giving a damn.  Maybe, Tony Blair should announce those 3,000 he wants to pull out with stay, and train.

Topics: Australia, Britain, Iraq, military, pols

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:50 pm on Tuesday, February 20, 2007

13 Responses to “Brits Split”

1. CavMedic Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 12:11 am

   Fair enough, but at the risk of Obamaizing myself, maybe another Aussie battalion would be appropriate. The way I see it, the current Aussie force was moved to An Nasiriyah to replace the Italians when they left so maybe another Aussie battalion could replace the departing Brits-even as MITT.

   The Aussies have other commitments that they have to maintain, so any help they could give us is appreciated.

   I realize Howard has an election coming up before too long and is currently behind Rudd in the polls, but victory in Iraq is worth the extra effort. Aussies are right to be proud of their military, I’m certain they would do a good job if they were given a greater role.

2. The Moderate Voice Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 1:36 am

   Tony Blair Inches Towards Quitting Iraq

   British Prime Minister Tony Blair is going to start to slowly pull the plug on his country’s involvement in the Iraq war, the NBC reports:
   Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce Wednesday a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Ira…

3. Bill's Bites Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 2:45 am

   British Troops To Leave Iraq

   Brits Split Jules Crittenden Brits are halving their force in Iraq. Tony Blair, who long fought within his own party to do the right thing in Iraq, is giving in to political forces he is no longer willing to fight.

4. saltydog Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 3:43 am

   How, and why, should Blair continue to take the heat when the U.S. congress makes it plain that courage, conviction, and honor in the face of hostile fire mean nothing. For all that I don’t care for Bush or the conduct of this war, at least he hasn’t spit at, or turned his back on the men and women of the armed forced that he–AND CONGRESS–sent into harm’s way. At least he’s trying to correct the mistakes, not making cheap political hay out of the situation.

5. The Moderate Voice » Blog Archive » Tony Blair Inches Towards Quitting Iraq (UPDATED) Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 8:29 am

   [...] Jules Crittenden: Brits are halving their force in Iraq. Tony Blair, who long fought within his own party to do the right thing in Iraq, is giving in to political forces he is no longer willing to fight. He’s leaving himself soon enough, so he might as well set the terms for the British draw down, to leave a reaction force in Basra, rather than allow someone else to precipitate a total withdrawal. [...]

6. AndrewZalotocky Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 9:28 am

   It’s not just a question of politics. The British armed forces are overstretched, and are suffering from critical equipment shortages. They don’t have nearly enough helicopters in Iraq or Afghanistan. They have been forced to use lightly-armoured Land Rovers to patrol Basra, leading to deaths from IEDs that would not have occurred had they been provided with suitable mine-protected vehicles. They can’t even defend their bases against mortar attacks, because even if they had the necessary anti-mortar radar systems they don’t have helicopters or UAVs available to go after the attackers. The fact is, they are being forced to retreat because a cost-cutting government has failed to provide them with the equipmen they need to fight effectively.

   Not sure if this comment system allows links, so for more details see:
   1. http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/06/how-blair-is-killing-our-soldiers.html

   2. http://eureferendum2.blogspot.com/2006/10/taurus-excretus.html

   3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/22/ndefence22.xml

   4. http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2006/11/freakin-water-taxi.html

7. AndrewZalotocky Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 11:50 am

   It’s not just a question of politics. The British armed forces are overstretched, and are suffering from critical equipment shortages. They don’t have nearly enough helicopters in Iraq or Afghanistan. They have been forced to use lightly-armoured Land Rovers to patrol Basra, leading to deaths from IEDs that would not have occurred had they been provided with suitable mine-protected vehicles. They can’t even defend their bases against mortar attacks, because even if they had the necessary anti-mortar radar systems they don’t have helicopters or UAVs available to go after the attackers. The fact is, they are being forced to withdraw because a cost-cutting government has failed to provide them with the equipment they need to fight effectively.

8. AndrewZalotocky Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 11:51 am

   Apologies for the double post, thought the first one hadn’t gone through.

9. RebeccaH Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 1:00 pm

   And when jihadis strike inside Britain again, what will be the left’s excuse? Not “we didn’t withdraw our troops”, but “we didn’t withdraw our troops fast enough.”

10. legaleagle7848 Says:
    February 21st, 2007 at 4:30 pm

    I don’t understand; Dick Cheney says the withdrawal is good news, indicating the story of a great victory in Iraq. My God, you’re not disagreeing with the Snarling Savage, and buying into the MSM’s doom-and-gloom, cut-and-run, defeatist, appeasement, treasonous take on Iraq, are you?

11. Jules Crittenden Says:
    February 21st, 2007 at 9:13 pm

    FYI: posts with multiple links are grabbed as potential spam and have to be moderated. Something like that.

12. Grimmy Says:
    February 22nd, 2007 at 12:46 am

    I dont hold this against the Brits. They stood up in the beginning and held on for as long as they could manage.

13. ChenZhen's Chamber Says:
    February 28th, 2007 at 12:31 pm

    Britain Declares Victory

    Big news regarding our friends (yes I do think of them that way) the Brits: Blair to announce Iraq withdrawal plan
    Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce on Wednesday a new timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, with 1,500 to return…

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