US general blames Britain for Basra crisis
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/23/wkeane123.x ml> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/23/wkeane123.xm l By Thomas Harding and Toby Helm Last Updated: 8:50am BST 23/08/2007 <file:///C:/Program%20Files/Common%20Files/Microsoft%20Shared/Stationery/#co mments> The first sign of serious tension between Gordon Brown and President George W Bush over Iraq have emerged as a senior US general said the withdrawal of British troops was creating a security crisis in the south of the country. * Gen Jack Keane, who is close to the White House and was the architect of the American troop "surge" in Baghdad this year, said the policy was helping to turn Basra into a city of "gangland warfare". * "I think what has happened is that they [the insurgents] know British numbers are going down and see the character of operations is changing," he told The Daily Telegraph. "They sense it and have got the momentum going. That's what's happening. There is a power play but they know no one is going to interfere with them." The remarks represent the first public questioning of British strategy by a senior US military official since Mr Brown became Prime Minister at the end of June. Gen Keane said the situation had deteriorated to the point where military commanders had even considered using US forces to reinforce the dwindling British presence. Privately, some US and British commanders believe that by backing the phased withdrawal and hinting that Afghanistan is a higher priority, Mr Brown is buoying up the morale of insurgents. The Ministry of Defence said there were problems in Basra but claimed that the ability of Iraq's own security forces to confront them was improving. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, accused Mr Brown of ignoring the Iraq issue while soldiers were dying. He said: ''Our forces deserve clear political leadership, which is singularly lacking at present while our troops are toiling in a very deadly and difficult situation.'' The number of British troops in Iraq has fallen from 7,200 at the start of this year to 5,500. This will drop to 5,000 by the beginning of next month. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
