The Lesson of the British Withdrawal From Basra

The British have now completely handed over control of Basra to Iraqi Security Forces. The British troops have withdrawn from their previous headquarters in Basra and are located at an air base waiting to finish their full withdrawal from Iraq.

So, what happened to the British once they announced their withdrawal? Watch and find out:

Here is the article with the exact quotes of the British commander in Basra. Such as:

"There has been a remarkable and dramatic reduction in the number of attacks against us."

...

"[T]he motivation for the militia for attacking us was removed in that we are no longer seen as an army of occupation patrolling the streets in Basra."

If anyone in this country was actually paying attention to the news, this might be a powerful example of what might happen if we announce our withdrawal. On the other hand, that might make too much sense.

Watch More Young Turks Videos Here

Follow Cenk Uygur on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks

Comments

[SamEllison]

OK all you folks that want us to stay, what happens in ten years and the same situation occurs? Vietnam, 58,000 US troops dead, 30,000 after Kissinger comes to power with his secret plan. Our being there solidifies the Islamist position against women.

[DemandTruth]

I brought this very story up months ago with a republican in my class. We had different opinions on what would happen after a troop withdrawl. Common sense and the only real-life example we have to go by (Basra) tells me violence and fighting and DEFINITELY American deaths would all be reduced. His Republican talking points and FOX news told him they'd "follow us home" and armageddon would come and it would be a disaster and blah blah blah fear fear fear.

Well, it turns out that once again, I was right. But his answer to me at the time of the argument? He got mad and practically shouted at me right there in class that I was wrong because I WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION!

How do you like that? I'M not paying attention? Everything I and many of us have said since before this disastrous occupation has been 100% on the mark and I'M not paying attention?!?!? The ability of these people to remain wilfully ignorant just amazes me!

[inthenitemare]

Cenk, I heard you talking about this on your show this morning and wanted to tell you that I was listening to a story on NPR by the BBC the other day about how the oppression of women has gone way up in Basra since the British have left.
Apparently, about 65 incidents have been reported of women attacked and in some cases shot for wearing improper apparrel. They said they were having a hard time finding women that would talk to them about it for fear of retaliation.

Like I said, It was on NPR, reported by the BBC if you want to get the whole story. Thought you'd like to know.

[LizM]

I don't know where you are getting your information, but you should check your sources. The situation in Basra is not quite as you portray...in fact, try to imagine the complete opposite kind of scenario and you will be far closer to the truth!

Actually, there is already a lot of data coming out of Basra and none of it is good. The British aren’t so much handing over control to the Iraqis as they are accepting the fact that they have no control to hand over and that it is time for retreat...they have been successfully kicked out, in other words and, unlike the Bush administration, can see the writing on the walls.

The International Crisis Group has recently released a thoroughly enlightening and equally depressing report on the situation, as it exists today, in the important southern Iraq city of Basra.

According to this latest Crisis Group report, there are important lessons which must be learned from the Basra experience and, I would add, which have direct implications for the viability of Senator Biden's strategy to facilitate a sustainable political settlement in Iraq, based on principles of federalism.

Basra, the second largest city in Iraq and one of vast economic and strategic importance, has become, to paraphrase the report, not a model to be replicated, but a stark example of what to avoid.

From the International Crisis Group report, Where Is Iraq Heading? Lessons From Basra:

“Basra’s political arena is in the hands of actors engaged in bloody competition for resources, undermining what is left of governorate institutions and coercively enforcing their rule. Far from being a model to replicate, Basra is an example of what to avoid. With renewed violence and instability, Basra illustrates the pitfalls of a transitional process that has led to the collapse of the state apparatus.”

And, on a final note, Senator Biden’s Iraq exit strategy, based on federalism and the Iraqi Constitution, is gaining great favor among Iraq’s sectarian leaders most of whom know Senator Biden and respect his judgement.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/d...from_basra.pdf

[oldpotsmuggler]

If US forces withdrew then yes violence would decrease, because there would be no violence directed towars out troops, and there would be no more violence directed at Iraqi's. To the extent that oil is being sold, there is money derived therefrom. To the extent that there is oil revenue, there is fighting among Iraqi's to capture that revenue stream. When some group finally has all of the oil revenue, they will fight only to the extent required to keep it. If a group has most but not all of the oil revenue, they will stop fighting over the rest only to the extent that the cost of trying to extract more is higher than the benefit to be gained from the effort.

Any time there are trillions of dollars of oil revenue at stake in any country, it is a certainty that major action in that country is directed towards acguiring as much of that vast fortune as is possible. This is basic human nature. When such a country is fractured into mutually antagonistic groups, the action will take the form of violence and anyone ending up in the middle is clearly at risk.

Only fools would voluntarily inject themselves into such an environment, and only fools, once there, would stay.

[dogman44]

Right now violence is way down across the board
in Iraq. Shiite and Sunni live in segregated areas. The Sunni militias have had a devastating effect on the al Qaeda groups. And
seem to be working toward reconciliation.The Shia seem to be holding to their cease fire except for some internecine violence between the two major militias over power. Now is a good time to say the surge worked, we won, time
to go home. We get out of Iraq while saving face, the Iraqis get rid of us and our meddling
in their affairs. Everybody wins.
The lull in violence we're seeing is the lull
before the storm of nationalism that is growing in Iraq. The sects will settle their differences and then the occupier will be the
only enemy. We need to get out now, while the door is open!

[The Impartial]

It has always been since the beginning the motto of the Iraquis, no matter which sect the ones belong to, "NO to OCCUPIERS".
They didn't receive us with open arms and flowers.
That was the same with Charlies in Vietnam. With that they got the soul of the citizenry, which made them strong even when didn't have modern weapons and air superiority as the US forces had.
The US aid to South VN went also to the wrong people, what you see now in Iraq.
This Administration didn't learn anything from the debacle of the 1970's.

[Ben Dixon]

If US forces withdrew then yes violence would decrease against Americans, and would increase against Iraqis. Violence would stay the same, just the targets would change.