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Secret deal kept UK forces out
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ASIANAGE on 05 August, 2008 02:59:32
 
By OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT
London
Aug. 5: The British Army stationed in Basra in Iraq allegedly had a secret deal
with Al-Mahdi militia, which is loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr,
that prevented the British forces from coming to the aid of their American and
Iraqi allies during the battle for Basra in 2008, according to a report in the
Times newspaper.
The British intelligence and elements of Al-Mahdi militia has made the deal
last summer to encourage the Shia militia back into the political process and
marginalise extremist factions. Under the terms of the deal, according to the
report, no British soldier could enter Basra without the permission of British
defence secretary Des Browne.
Iraqi PM Noori al-Maliki had on March 25 ordered a surprise assault on Basra
and the British troops based there did not take part in the operations for 6
days due to the "deal," the newspaper claimed. The defence ministry, however,
said that the reason why UK troops were not sent immediately into Basra was
because there was "no structure in place" in the city for units to go back in to
start mentoring the Iraqi troops.
Lieutenant-Colonel Chuck Western, a senior US Marine advising the Iraqi Army,
was quoted as saying, "I was not happy. Everybody just assumed that because this
deal was cut nobody was going in. Cutting a deal with the bad guys is generally
not a good idea."
The battle for Basra had been damaging to Britain’s reputation in Iraq, the
report added. "Mr Maliki, and the Americans, felt the British were morally
impugned by the deal they had reached with the militia. The British were accused
of trying to find the line of least resistance in dealing with the Shia
militia," it quoted a source as saying.