CIAO DATE: 09/2008
September 2007
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
On September 3, 550 British troops evacuated one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces in Basra via the Shatt al-Arab waterway, retreating to Basra airport, the last British base in Iraq. Britain remains responsible for security in the city and for the major supply route from Kuwait, fifty miles to the south. But there is an increasing presumption that British forces will soon withdraw completely, and that U.S. forces will have to replace them.
In a September 4 interview with the Times of London, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the second most senior U.S. commander in Iraq, said he was comfortable with the British withdrawal but pointedly listed Britain's continuing responsibilities, which include training Iraqi security forces and supporting the coalition's political work. "There are still several missions we need [the British] to do down there, and we have laid it out for [them]." The Times journalist noted that a British withdrawal would be regarded in Washington as "little short of betrayal" and quoted Odierno as saying, "We believe right now that the British forces will stay there in some size. That's what we have been told so far."
Resource link: PolicyWatch #1283: Leaving Basra City: Britain's Withdrawal from Iraq [PDF] - 13K