Iraqi forces see victory in Basra

Iraqi soldiers are standing proud in Basra one month after launching a surprise offensive to wipe out murderous gangs of Shia militants that had been allowed to flourish under Britain’s watch.
Many of them say the operation has boosted their confidence, but the militiamen warn that the only reason the fledgling Iraqi army had any success was because they continue to observe a ceasefire order by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Soldier Hassan Sha’an said the past four weeks has tested the training he received from British forces in conducting raids and pulling security for an important person. The 25-year-old is part of team charged with guarding the Iraqi commander of forces in Basra, Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Furaiji.
“When we conducted raids I remembered what we had been taught about covering our backs and looking out for our colleagues,” Mr Sha’an said.
“After the achievements of the Charge of the Knights operation I feel as a soldier more confident to go on raids and patrols or search for people.”
Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, launched the Basra offensive on March 25 after alerting US and British commanders at the last minute. The original plan that Lt-Gen Furaiji had drawn up anticipated the campaign to start in mid-July.
Encouragingly, the first wave of attacks caught the militants off-guard, but two days later they launched a counter offensive, prompting at least one entire Iraqi Army battalion of 1,400 men to flee.
Threats by Mr Maliki to disarm rang hollow and the mission appeared to be on the brink of failure before thousands of Iraqi re-enforcements backed by hundreds of American and British soldiers joined the fight at the start of April.
“They [the militiamen] collapsed,” said Lt-Gen Furaiji, claiming that the gunmen were a fraction of the 12,000-strong force that some had anticipated.

Rogue elements of the al-Mehdi Army militia, loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, are accused of being behind much of the violence and intimidation in Basra, where the population was forced to follow a set of strict religious codes or be punished.
The Iraqi commander said: “Those who fought are from special groups who received training in Iran.”
But the Basra leader of the Sadr movement, the cleric's political wing said the Government had launched a witch hunt for anyone linked to the Sadrists to ensure rival political parties and their militias gain power in Iraq’s second city.

“I expect to be arrested at any moment,” said Sheikh Ali al-Saedi, who was forced to move to the holy city of Najaf, north of Basra, after his office was taken over by the Iraqi security forces.
Hojatoleslam al-Sadr has threatened “open war” unless the Government stops targeting his militia. Lt-Gen Furaiji is unconcerned, saying: “What is he waiting for? Let him fight.”
Iraqi commanders insist that their operation is against anyone who defies the law and is not just targeting the Mehdi Army. It is unclear however to what extent the other militias in Basra have been disarmed. Ominous new graffiti on a wall in the city reads: “The people will retaliate from the new Ba’athists and the followers of the dirty Maliki.”
One thing is certain, for the first time in four years residents and tribesmen feel brave enough to turn against the militants. Many have handed in weapons in return for cash or point out where stockpiles of bombs and rockets are hidden.
In a new sweep that began yesterday, seven Iraqi battalions entered a large market area – one of three remaining Mehdi Army bastions in Basra – where they found four large hauls of munitions including 20 rockets of the type that were being fired at Britain’s military base at the airport on a near daily basis.
Tellingly, the rocket fire has all but stopped since March 25. A number of roadside bombs, of the sort that killed a US marine earlier this week (the first US casualty in Basra since the invasion) were also uncovered at the market.
Looking around a makeshift, arms storage-house next to an old hotel, which is being used as the operational headquarters, I saw rooms filled with seized roadside bombs, AK47 rifles, rockets, mortar tubes and landmines.

Much of the bomb material is thought to have come from Iran, a charge that the Iranian Government has repeatedly rejected.
Lt-Gen Furaiji keeps a small collection of Iranian-made mortars in his office at the Shat al-Arab hotel, which sits on the bank of the Shat al-Arab waterway. He said: “Thanks to the Iranians for handing over all these weapons to us.”

 

[Picture 1: Soldiers Hassan Sha'an (right) and Ahmed Kadem;
Picture 2: General Mohan and his troops patrol around Basra;
Picture 3: A fallen poster of Moqtada al-Sadr;
Picture 4: Graffiti on a wall in the city reads, "The people will retaliate from the new Ba’athists and the followers of the dirty Maliki”;
Picture 5: A rundown street in Basra;
Picture 6: Some of the roadside bombs found by the Iraqi Army;
Picture 7: Me sitting on an Iraqi tank at the Shat al-Arab Hotel.]

Comments

[Bohdan Szejner, Rome, Italy]

As I said many times, Iraq won't be peaceful and free if al-Sadr is armed! The Sadr City must be purged of weapons relentlessly, until victory. As head of the Iraqi government, Al-Maliki is accountable for every U.S. soldier killed by mortars fired from Sadr City and for every damage done to the Green Zone! This is why he must be held accountable for the disarming, renaming, and rebuilding of Sadr City!!! All this has to be done now: enough of wabbling!

[Bohdan Szejner, Rome, Italy]

The Sadr City must be fully disarmed mow, regardless what al-Maliki or the Iranians say! I have said a hundred times. Al-Maliki, as head of the Iraqi government, is responsible for every U.S. soldier killed by the mortars hurled from Sadr City! Not Iran, but al-Maliki! This is why al-Maliki must be held accountable for the full disarmament, renaming, and rebuilding of Sadr City! Enough of wabbling! Enough of killing ... the courtesy of al-Sadr!

[Jason]

I am incredulous that the Times is spinning this amazing victory story by attempting to give the credit to Iran, when in reality, the Iranians turned tail and ran when they saw that their proxies were about to be crushed. Why must you Brits spin everything so horribly bad, and wrong. BTW, you're a cutie.

[Sam]

The Basra defeat narrative was the 2008 media version of the Vietnam War Tet offensive.

I'm glad to see there is at least some pullback now on the Basra reporting "errors". It took a lot longer for Tet.

[Mark]

"but the militiamen warn that the only reason the fledgling Iraqi army had any success was because they continue to observe a ceasefire order by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr."

Yeah, that and the fact that the American and Iraqi armies have killed these "militiamen" (yet another euphemism for terrorist) by the hundreds.

[fred lapides]

Absurd:
"
Baghdad, Apr 24 (Prensa Latina) The US Central Command in Iraq Thursday announced the death of another of its soldiers in a resistance attack in the east of this capital, bringing the number of American occupation troops killed so far this month in the Arab country to 35.

Washingtons Army in Iraq has had an average of 1.46 losses per day in April, one of the highest this year...

[anon]

The best reporting yet, from Basra. The Times truly is Britain's newspaper of record, and reports the facts bad, ugly -- or good. In contrast to most of the media who got the Basra narrative so horribly, horribly wrong. Many asserted disaster from the beginning, yet independent journalists on the ground, and those following the actual military operations -- and now the Times -- have reported differently. And as it turns out, it is now apparent that the situation was nowhere as dire for Iraqi forces as first reported. Why did the media then buy into its own 'disaster in Basra' narrative from the get go then? One can only surmise a sort of systemic bias: a narrative is advanced and then journalists sponge off each others' ambient biases, creating a snowballing effect in an echo-chamber.

Well done to the Times for providing a contrary -- and as it happens the truer -- perspective.

[Kiumars]

USA lost over 140,000 rifles in Iraq which ended up in the hands of the freedom fighters, how many Iranian rifles they have found in Iraq? The photo of the bomb making equipment shows how effective such basic pot & pan bombs have been so far! Necessity is the mother of all inventions. By the way, what are the Americans going to do with over two million Sadar supporters? Kill them all? They don’t like you and don’t want you, are you going to force them to like you? This is not the end, this is only the beginning.

[Mahyar K]

"attempting to give the credit to Iran, when in reality, the Iranians turned tail and ran when they saw that their proxies were about to be crushed"...posted by Jason

First of all READ THE ARTICLE!!! dude where does it give credit to Iran...the last comment by the Lt-Gen Furaiji, he is just being sarcastic.

Secondly its ignorant people like you who sit comfortably at home and sip their tea and comment on something you have no clue about that makes you wonder Einstein couldnt have been more right "there are two things in the world that are infinite one is Universe and other is Stupidity of mankind...im not so sure about the universe"

More than 10 countries helped armed Iraq during Iran-Iraq war and you dare to suggest Iranians turned tail?

oh well cant expect much more from you when you cant even understand the point of an article written in english...I PITY YOU

FYI 65% of the population of Iraq consist of SHIA muslims. America should have done the homework on Iraq before invading it....oh well guess Oil makes you blind ;)

[Jason]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3671819.ece
Mahyar, Here is the Times article where Foreign Affairs Editor, Richard Beeston gives credit for Basra to Iran. Yes, the Iranians most certainly did back down in Basra, where their special forces and proxies were previously stealing oil, controlling the port, killing British soldiers, and terrorizing the Shia population.

[Bob]

to fred lapides. This year has been the best year in Iraq so far as far as casualties. Second, there has been approximately 86 Mahdi members killed alone in Baghdad this week. If Al Sadr was so confident, he wouldnt be hiding in Iran. Absurd indeed

[Mark]

"USA lost over 140,000 rifles in Iraq which ended up in the hands of the freedom fighters"

Care to cite your source? I have no doubt that some weapons have been lost. In the 1st gulf war 50 missing Army trucks showed up with Marine markings... There is Lost and then there is "reallocated".

[Sheikh Yarbuti]

Good to see that this victory is now at least sporadically reported - altho it got relatively light coverage compared to the supposed "defeat" a few weeks earlier.

It appears that the Iraqi government is finally beginning to learn to master both military and political power. This could be the start of something big.

[COL Barry Johnson, Shaiba, Iraq]

Great perspective, Deborah, on a difficult mission. Having spent the last eight months in the Basra area and approaching three years of duty in Iraq, I know this isn't an easy story to report. Thanks for caring enough about the troops and the Iraqi people to have spent so much time here over the past few years. Stay safe.

[Jason]

Deborah, Help us set the record straight. Please do a post about what you can find out about (1) Iran's role in the groups that were controlling Basra before the recent crackdown, (2) Iran's motivation in backing down, (3) How typical Iraqis in Basra feel about Iran, and (4) How will that affect support for either Sadr or alternative parties in the
October provincial elections. Thanks.

[Brian Gorman]

Hoorah for Deborah and The Times of London. Sam nailed it when comparing the Basra Operation to the TET Offensive. TET was a military disaster for the Communists virtually eliminating the Viet Minh as an operaitonal force in the war. Yet the American media created the hystery and a sense we lost leading to the politial developments of 1968 and evetual defeat. Now we have two Democratic candidates who want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Not to worry Hillary is going to "obliterate" Iran if they attack Israel with nuclear weapons. Hellooo, Hill. The idea as President is to prevent Iran from ever getting nuclear weapons. A retreat from Iraq would embolden Iran even more to proceed with their goal to possess nuclear weapons and dominate the Middle East. That's what is at stake here and kudos to Deborah for this excellent report. BTW, I agree with Jason you are a cutie.

[Dan R.]

Finally, a major western news organization actually manages to get one of its correspondents into Basra instead of relying on Iraqi "stringers" for their "reporting". And what do we find out? Looks like the initial reports of the Iraqi Army's demise that appeared in the NY Times and on CNN were greatly exaggerated. No real surprise there. Thanks for your efforts, Deborah, to let the world know the truth about what's happening in Basrah, uncolored by pre-set political agendas.

[Brian]

How do you war mongers like eating your own words time and time again? After the invasion you were all convinced that it was "mission accomplished." After the "surge" you all said that finally Iraq is seeing progress, and now the violence is right back up to "pre-surge" levels. This is guerilla warfare by a determined force that would rather die than give in to foreign invaders and their puppet government. Ignorance is what allowed this invasion and what continues to perpetuate it. It is also this same ignorance that has buried 4,000 US troops and countless Iraqis.

[Jason]

Brian, First, having crushed and/or turned the Sunni insurgency allowed us to redirect our attention to the Iranians and their mafia proxies that want to control Iraq. The violence now indicates progress being made. Second, you have it backwards. The Iranians are the "foreign invaders," responsible for the bombs raining down on the elected Iraqi government. We are there at the invitation and in support of the elected government. How is that so hard to understand?

[Jason]

Because Times readers might like to have a clue as to what is going on in Iraq.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/05/us_troops_kill_28_ma_1.php
The Comments are as informative as the article.

[Jason]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=39e_1209573823
Is anybody going to report this? Anybody? Please!

[L.Amman]

Hi Debbie

What a nice photo !Are you a tank commander ,what's your rank?

[Jason]

http://www.longwarjournal.org/
The Long War Journal is presently by far the best reporting on Iraq. Its pretty unbelievable how relatively easily Sadr and JAM are being taken down. Who would have ever believed it? Now that they no longer look invincible, they are being abandoned by Iraqis. Keep the good news coming!

[Marcus]

Having just left Basrah to return to London for a couple of weeks leave I feel well placed to comment on this article.

Operation Charge of the Knights has certainly proved to be a success in that General Mohan has achieved, largely, his aims of 'securing' Basrah. This success has been achieved as a result of various factors: Firstly, 10 Div IA is actually a fairly efficient force when compared against their enemy. Secondly, the British Government, after being heavily lent on by Washington, seems to have finally taken off many of the restrictions of opertaion that created the power vacuum in Basrah, which the JAM have been able to exploit. BritMil have been able to provide meaningful support to Mohan and his troops, assisting them greatly. The most important factor, however, is the refusal of JAM to offer battle. They have, to all intents and purposes left the field to Government troops; the resistance seen has been centred around hard-liners and stay-behinds. Where they will re-appear is another story; perhpas in and around Nothern Dhi-Qar and An Nasiriyah now that 10 and 14 Div have their attention focused on Basrah.

The civil war in Iraq, and that is exactly what we are looking at here, will drag on until the Shia majority in the south have their own semi-independent autonomy as the Kurds do in the north. Indeed, the idea of a federal form of government is gathering much support among Iraqis and occupiers alike. Whether the US will ultimately support such a policy remains to be seen, given the oil reseves in the area, and the ties of southen (Shia) Iraqis with Tehran.

[Alex]

Times welcome back to civilization. The tone of ME news starts changing in last month. So good to see at last some truth, not just Ali-Baba fairytales illustrated by iconic images of "Ashura festival". Tide is turning against Islamic cannibals everywhere, and there will be more good news from Iraq, Lebanon and Israel. Take care Debbie, thanks for your report.

[John]

Imperial oil-war propagandists passing themselves off as journalists has a long pedigree. One would have only to return to the Times reporting of Britain's post WWI Iraq occupation to see how establishment journalism unfortunately has not changed that much.
My question is how does this reporter's Basra story and its echoing of MNF-I's representation of the Sadrists as "criminal gangs"
square with the Times recent reporting from Sadr City of Mahdi Army fighters apparently embedded in the 2.5 million person Sadr City ghetto.
Perhaps it's because the Sadr City report examined the fight from the Sadrist point of view and not as a journalistic poseur perched on the front of a tank, a piece of military hardware which has no business being used in densely populated cities.
Where is Robert Fisk when you need him?

[Jason]

I assume that the lack of posts from Iraq is due to the fast breaking success of the Iraqi Army and Coalition forces, in Basra, Sadr City, and now in launching a new operation to clear Mosul. Sadr cried "Uncle" in Sadr City, and we, nevertheless, continue cutting down his thugs and building the barrier to clear out the mortars and rockets in reach of the Green Zone. I guess progress doesn't interest Times readers.

[Daniel Kasak]

What a disgustingly biased article! What a sellout from another 'embedded' journalist! Let's not forget that the US-backed 'government' and 'Iraqi army' are just another faction fighting ruthlessly for power in the quagmire that the US has created. They are no more legitimate than any other faction - less so in fact. If Iran chooses to send money, weapons, troups, etc, then this is clearly more legitimate than the US's meddling. I would rather see an Iranian-backed victory over the occupation than a US victory. But of course, there will be no US victory. The war is lost. It's time people accepted this.

[Mahmoud]

If the American and other western governments helped establish building projects that make peoples lives better in Iraq instead of competing for rival dominance then the people of Iraq would support the foreign troops.
This will mend relationships and will speed normalisatin of Iraq and lead to a quicker cessation of hostilities by all parties and a more notable withdrawal of all foreign troops.
At the same time ther is a need to maintain respectable dialogue and trade with Iran and with other so called "terrorist" labelled groups in and around the region to prevent discrimination and injustice to innocent people.
Finally it would be in both Israel and the rest of the worlds interests to work towards a proper peace deal with all the Palestinian people including Hamas and stop committing atrocities whenever it pleases itself.
Shedding of blood is not an excuse for any retaliation.Since Isreal is more powerful than Palestinians, they should start the peace process on a fair and equitable basis and then and only then there maybe hope for peace in the region.
I am sure that the honest and sincere people in Israel would agree with me and as for those that are selfish they have to wake up to reality and consider what is the best choice for their future generation and teach their offspring the same lesson.