Report: U.S., U.K. fear pending British withdrawals will become a rout

Above: British troops fight militia forces in Basra in April. In the past months British forces have come under increased attacks resulting in climbing casualties.

Army chiefs fear Iraq exit will be Britain’s Saigon moment

WHEN the British went into Iraq they were believed to have more expertise in counter-insurgency than their US allies still learning the lessons of humiliation in Vietnam.

But now they are facing their own “Saigon moment” with plans for a withdrawal predicted by some on the British side to be ignominious and by a US military adviser to be ugly and embarrassing.

Not only that, but the British are expected to rely on US troops for cover to protect their convoys. Some officers are expressing concern about the way their campaign is ending.

Next month the British will pull back from their last base in the city of Basra at Saddam’s old summer palace. What the Ministry of Defence is keen to avoid is a photograph of the last helicopter taking off from the palace. The image would be too close to that of the last helicopter taking off from the American embassy in Saigon in April 1975, an enduring symbol of US defeat.

The troops on the British helicopters will not be leaving Iraq. They will be pulling back to their base at the airport outside the city to await the final order to withdraw.

Read the rest at the Times of London

Britain faces Iraq rout says US

A MILITARY adviser to President George W Bush has warned that British forces will have to fight their way out of Iraq in an “ugly and embarrassing” retreat.

Stephen Biddle, who also advises the US commander in Iraq, said Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias in the south would try to create the impression they were forcing a retreat. “They want to make it clear they have forced the British out. That means they’ll use car bombs, ambushes, RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] . . . and there will be a number of British casualties.”

The comments coincide with British military estimates that withdrawal could cost the lives of 10 to 15 soldiers.

Some British officers believe they are facing a “humiliating” retreat under fire to Kuwait or the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.

“I regret to say that the Basra experience is set to become a major blunder in terms of military history,” said a senior officer. “The insurgents are calling the shots . . . and in a worst-case scenario will chase us out of southern Iraq.”

Read the rest at the Times of London

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