The newly elected Polish government leader has announced the withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq as soon as practicable. As the Poles are providing rather a lot of particularly highly trained soldiers and covering an entire sector in Iraq, perhaps that is why the all -out withdrawal of British troops, to be completed by 2008, has been put on hold and three scenarios, including increasing troop numbers, were offered by General Peter Wall to the Commons Defence Committee.
Two weeks ago the Leader was not guaranteeing any British troops in Iraq after next year. General Wall's other two scenarios were reinforcement by the Iraqi army and reinforcement by troops from other nation members of the 'international ' force.
General Wall may not have realised that apart from a tiny and highly specialized Australian group, there isn't anybody else left.
The Turkish army, who were looking extraordinarily well-equipped on the television coverage, air cover and everything, as well as looking extraordinarily scary, which is their wont, are not on our side: though little seems to stand between them and Baghdad except Condoleeza Rice saying 'please don't'.
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There will never be a good time to go HG. Might as well make it next week. I never saw Iraq as to do with much else than our security. An astonishing number of Iraqis seemt to be enjoying their new deomocracy and I think there is every chnace that the place will be at least better than it was.
For us it was about supporting the US.
IMHO
It's such a strange discussion in front of the Commons Defence Committee, N; the Conservatives seemed amazed at any idea of staying, let alone increasing the number of troops and, when it comes to defence matters, I believe the Conservatives because their party does war, whereas Labour does not, very strongly against warmongering, is Labour (which is one of the major reasons why NewLabNewDawn is so offensive).
A good time to go is when the troops can leave in good order. As the US have denounced British efforts, declared they have lost the south, and said they'll have to send in their own to control the former UK zone, then the only criteria is getting out safely. The papers are suggesting the Poles want out as quickly as did Zapatero.
Reports say that there are Turkish air strikes and land incursions into Iraq.
A good time to go is when the troops can leave in good order.
Never going to happen.
Hi HG: just calling by to say hello, nothing bright to say here.
No. It's not going to happen.
Didn't we do 10 years of sanctions on Iraq to soften them up before we invaded? Isn't that is what is planned for Iran?
I cannot believe how insane our leaders are. You would have thought they had worked out who they were dealing with by now.
I suppose this is the advantage of using mercenaries - oops, sorry, I meant "contractors" - instead of soldiers from your country's army, whether conscript or professional.
If contracted mercenaries get stuck and surrounded in a dangerous place it is their own business and that of the contracting firm. The risk is factored into their recruitment salary and insurance packages, tough titties if they are caught or tortured or maimed or killed.
Market efficiency will have equalised risks and reward, all should be happy even if not all will be happy everafter.
And, should the contracted mercenaries happen to indulge in raping torturing maiming or killing innocent civilians the government that has hired their services can disclaim any responsibility, and sue the mercenaries for tarnishing its image.
Who is going to attack Iran, next? The market will do it.
The reports in yesterday's Telegraph from a senior British officer that the army is sitting outside the airport with an arrangement that they will not be rocket-attacked if they do not interfere in the goings on throughout the so-called British area of control, and the reports on Informed Comment from various sources that the control of the south of Iraq is no longer anything to do with the British are extraordinary.
The Turks are inside northern Iraq, with 100,000 strong forces all along the border from Syria to Iran who can enter at will too, indigenous forces control southern Iraq, the British army has agreements with non-government Iraq forces, the Leader lies about leaving and now says additional forces will be there by Christmas to do what precisely is unclear.
It seems unlikely the British have much choice in what is happening; it's looking doubtful if the Americans have either.
As for the use of mercenaries, Caronte, that deserves a post to itself, but they seem to have been used outside British areas of operation, and by the US not other coalition countries. Nasty things, merceneries and not a lot of use in fighting or being loyal or achieving anything but their private goals of self-enrichment and avoidance of any danger to themselves.
Where are the rest of NATO HG... this is not such a tough job but in practice other NATO members are simply worse than useless.
The US will grow tired of being the world`s police and and getting nothing but resentment in return mand then the workld will be a vastly more dangerous place .
I look forward to telling the knee jerk pacifists how wrong they have been once again
Turkey is in NATO, N, and they are really cross , not unnaturally. Of all the truly wrong things the European Union has managed, the persistent exclusion of Turkey as a Euopean power has been the worst. Now the existence of Turkey as a major middle-eastern power is reasserting itself and we could have had all their goodwill. We can't not have them at all, as many wished, a glance at a map says it all - it's either with us, or in their own interest, and now they are in their own interest.
The rest of NATO is the EU; how do the EU support the US? They are competing for control of the same resources. And now the US has one Nato ally immobile at Basra airport and the other perfectly capable of taking Baghdad (both in physical and fury terms).
If I were the US I would give up on NATO.
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