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Ear to the Ground

Violence in Basra Drops 90% After British Withdrawal

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Posted on Nov 17, 2007
British troops in Basra
AP photo / Nabil al-Jurani

Smoke break:  British troops watch from their armored vehicle during a ceremony marking the opening of a new Iraqi army division headquarters in Basra on Nov. 7.

Perhaps Basra can be seen as a test case for the rest of Iraq with regard to withdrawal and its effects:  According to Maj. Gen. Graham Binns, the commander of British forces in Basra, there has been a “remarkable and dramatic drop in attacks” since the majority of his troops withdrew from the city.


International Herald-Tribune:

In mid-December, British forces are scheduled to return control of Basra province back to Iraqi officials—officially ending Britain’s combat role in Iraq.

“We’ve been in that de facto role since we moved out of the palace ... but we hope the (December) transfer will symbolize the end of a period many in Basra city perceived as occupation,” Binns said.

With an overwhelmingly Shiite population, Basra has not seen the level of sectarian violence that has torn Iraq apart since the Feb. 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad.

But it has seen major fighting between insurgents and coalition troops, as well as between Shiite militias vying for control of the city and its security forces.

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By 1drees, December 1, 2007 at 7:06 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

CARTTONIST :

IN CASE YOUR IGNORANT SELF FAILED TO NOTICE , IRAQ was a pretty nice place to live in and had all the infrastructure of the country and all amenities avilable to citizens such as running water, severage, hospitals etc etc TILL SOME A$$H0LEZ (like you) showed up to “LIBERATE” it and actually what they did was destroy everything and shoot everything in sight INDISCRIMINATELY and you didnt witness tht but ost probably 15 millions of IRAQIs did and HENCE THE HATRED AND VIOLENCE THAT WILL SEEP THROUGH THE GENERATIONS AND AFFECT SOME PEOPLE FOR THE NEXT 20 years.
BEING A TYPICAL IGNORANT AMERICAN YOUM IGHT CLAIM THAT UK & USA DID NOTHING BUT HELP BUT THE BETTER INFORMED ONES & THE IRAQIS (atleast) KNOW BETTER THAN YOUR RANTS and REMEMBER it is written in certain books “AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP” maybe you think you are so so so damn smart at lyign that you can out do that law BUT THEN THERE WERE OTHER STUPIDS BEFORE YOU TOO ......... lol

BTW while you are at IMPROVING THE WORLD could you please do something about the US service women who were raped during military service and some who are still being raped coz they are in a binding contract unable to leave, if you got a will to improve things please atleast do somethings for those womens who volunteered to serve the country instead they found themselves subordinate to perverts who hare habitual abursers and rapists and if you need help researching that and the names and the ladies involved , i can help you get to them, they are all over youtube.

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By Allah Cartoonist, November 18, 2007 at 5:31 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

This isn’t rocket science. Basra is less violent is because there is nobody left for the locals to fight. Do you think Basra would be peaceful if it were 40% Sunni instead of all Shiite? Riiight.

I am in favor of immediate withdrawal, also, but I am a realist about what will follow.  Don’t delude yourselves into thinking peace will follow, people. In cities where the sectarian violence is only tempered by presence of US forces on the streets, it is going to be a bloodbath on a Rwandan scale.  The air in Bagdad will be filled with cries of “allah akbar” and the streets will be full of headless bodies. But if the majority of Iraqis want civil war rather than democratic power sharing, I say let them have it.  They had their chance to build something constructive and pissed it away by embracing sectarianism instead of reconciliation. Islam needs to evolve to be compatible with modernity and civilization, anyway, so maybe some darwinian selection on a massive scale is what is needed.

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By 1drees, November 18, 2007 at 1:27 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Tony’s brilliant words i repeat as i think i second each one:

“ Violence in Basra Drops 90% After British Withdrawal “

“Lets see now.... We bomb this country for months, then invade, install a puppet government, are responsible for the slaughter of over 1.5 million people and the displacement of at least 4 million more. We snipe from the tops of buildings, drive tanks through the streets, allow mercenaries to kill indiscriminately without fear of prosecution, construct permanent military bases and the largest American Embassy in the world (sometimes using slave labour). Arrest and torture people without reason, disregard international and local law… etc, etc. And we call it a huge success that violence stops when we leave!! WE are the violence. “

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By Douglas Chalmers, November 18, 2007 at 12:54 am #

#114257 by Joe Franks on 11/18 at 12:34 am: “But at least the neocons are idealists.  They really want all countries in the world to be peaceful democracies and free market capitalisms, grateful and subservient to American leadership.  Real neocons would be as happy as anyone about reduced violence in Iraq....”

Oh, doubtlessly, Joe, and they WERE happy for a while as long as oil was being delivered for around $40 per barrel. Now, not buying oil from dictators is hardly an excuse........!!!

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By Joe Franks, November 18, 2007 at 12:34 am #

Yo Doug, driving bear was just being sarcastic.  Even the neoconservatives are no more crackpot than the crackpot realists.  But at least the neocons are idealists.  They really want all countries in the world to be peaceful democracies and free market capitalisms, grateful and subservient to American leadership.  Real neocons would be as happy as anyone about reduced violence in Iraq. And only satirists would suggest that this wonderful news would be regarded as a bad thing, even by the neocons.

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By Douglas Chalmers, November 17, 2007 at 11:57 pm #

#114234 by driving bear on 11/17 at 9:02 pm: “Of course when you surrender to the terrorist the violence goes down. that’s a no brainer...”

Typical of the invader and usurper to dictate who is a terrorist - in their own country, uhh.

See what happens when the football hooligans leave.....?!?!

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By driving bear, November 17, 2007 at 9:02 pm #

Of course when you surrender to the terrorist the violence goes down. that’s a no brainer.

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By Tony, November 17, 2007 at 8:13 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Lets see now.... We bomb this country for months, then invade, install a puppet government, are responsible for the slaughter of over 1.5 million people and the displacement of at least 4 million more. We snipe from the tops of buildings, drive tanks through the streets, allow mercenaries to kill indiscriminately without fear of prosecution, construct permanent military bases and the largest American Embassy in the world (sometimes using slave labour). Arrest and torture people without reason, disregard international and local law… etc, etc. And we call it a huge success that violence stops when we leave!! WE are the violence.

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By P. T., November 17, 2007 at 6:24 pm #

If Bush wanted to lessen the violence in Iraq, he would announce that the U.S. will not maintain a permanent presence there.  The Iraqi resistance will keep fighting unless he does that.

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By PatrickHenry, November 17, 2007 at 5:42 pm #

Gee, who would have guessed this would happen.

I guess the country (Iraq) won’t fall apart when we leave (preferably soon).

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