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| Iraq |
| Anger grows in Basra over UK raid |
| 2005-09-22 |
| Waving pistols and assault rifles, Iraqi police officers led an angry anti-British demonstration in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, and the provincial council voted unanimously to stop cooperating with British forces in the area until Britain apologized for storming a police station to free two of its soldiers. At least 200 people, mostly officers who work in the police station that was damaged in the raid, rallied outside Basra's police headquarters, demanding an official apology from Britain and the resignation of Basra's police chief, Hassan Sawadi, Iraqi officials said. Later, Basra's 41-member provincial council voted unanimously to "stop dealing with the British forces working in Basra" until it received an apology for the raid on Monday, The Associated Press reported. In the raid, British tanks crashed through the police station's outer wall and freed two officers who had been detained by the Iraqi police. To help ease tensions, the Iraqi prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, made a joint appearance in London with Britain's defense secretary, declaring that the incident was being investigated and "will not affect relations" between the countries. But the provincial council's vote threatened to worsen the increasingly volatile atmosphere in Basra, where the British had prided themselves on their good relations with the Iraqi authorities. The incident has already been an embarrassment for Britain, with Iraqi officials accusing the British command in Basra of imperial arrogance and "barbaric" behavior in the raid. It was not clear what the council's vote to stop cooperating with the British would mean in practice, or whether it would include an end to cooperation by the police. In addition to an apology, the council demanded that the British provide compensation for the families of those killed or wounded in the raid and said that it would punish employees who had not tried to defend the station against the British, The A.P. reported. The details of the raid and its origins remain murky, with British and Iraqi officials offering different accounts. British commanders and government officials have said the Iraqi police handed the men over to Shiite militia members, who largely control the Iraqi police and military in Basra. After breaking into the police station, British officials said, British soldiers found the two men in a nearby house. Initially, some Iraqi officials confirmed that account. But on Wednesday, Iraq's interior minister, Bayan Jabr, disputed the British account, telling the BBC that the soldiers had not been handed over to anyone else and that the British had acted on a rumor. A spokesman for Muhammad al-Waili, the governor of Basra Province, said the same thing in an interview, adding that the British were "claiming that to justify their illegal behavior." The arrest and detention of the British officers, who were in Arab dress, was handled appropriately, said the spokesman, who agreed to discuss the episode on the condition of anonymity. A judge issued an arrest warrant and informed both the Basra governor and the city council about the case, he said. He added that the Iraqi police had been justified in arresting and holding the men, who had opened fire after being stopped at a checkpoint. As recriminations continued over the Basra incident, a senior aide to Ayad Allawi, the former prime minister of Iraq, accused the current Iraqi government of fabricating corruption charges against Mr. Allawi's former defense minister, Hazem Shaalan, Reuters reported. On Monday, Radi al Radhi, the chief of Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity, said he expected warrants to be issued in the coming week for Mr. Shaalan and others in connection with the disappearance of more than $1 billion from the Defense Ministry. In Amman, Jordan, Ibrahim al- Janabi, the aide to Mr. Allawi, said the accusations against Mr. Shaalan were part of a plot by Iran to smear Mr. Allawi and his secular allies. Insurgent violence continued across Iraq. In Baghdad, three Iraqi officers were killed Wednesday when Iraqi and American forces clashed with insurgents in Mansour, an upscale district. At least five insurgents - one of them a woman - were killed, witnesses and Interior Ministry officials said. The battle began when a hostage escaped from the house where the insurgents, all Sudanese citizens, were staying, Interior Ministry officials said. The Iraqi police then raided the house, and after coming under heavy fire from insurgents inside, they called for backup from Iraqi police commandos and American troops. In Mosul, two Iraqi journalists have been killed by gunmen in the past two days, the Iraqi state television network reported. The victims were Ahlam Yusef, a sound engineer for the network, and Firas Maadidi, a newspaper reporter. American military officials announced Wednesday that they had captured Abdul Ghafur Yahiyah al-Abdullah, an insurgent in Mosul who is accused of having worked as a driver for leaders of the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #16 Good point, Mrs. Davis. It's my personal opinion that this is a major, class action, fuckup on the part of the British. It does nothing to encourage the myth that "democracy" is working in Iraq, that the Iraqi police and military have any independent initiative aside from being lackeys to the American and British occupation---or that Iraqis will be given the capacity for sovereignty and home rule. Nope, it sure looks like a double standard, doesn't it? Local law is apparently good enough for the locals, but certainly not for the Brits. Has anyone even wondered what the Brits in Arab dress were up to? |
| Posted by: Omolusing Glurong4284 2005-09-22 23:49 |
| #15 Gee, I wonder if Britain has any more of those old Chieftans with the flamethrowers? I'm sure that would make an EXCELLENT riot-dispersal weapon. Not to mention a bit of a deterrent factor. Sadr and his Tots need to be reduced to the crud at the bottom of a grease trap, and soon. That's absolutely essential if there is to be peace in Iraq in the near future. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-09-22 16:42 |
| #14 It seems like he's the only one of those guys not engaged in violence. btw, is there any anger in Britain over the capture of two troops? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-09-22 16:41 |
| #13 he may be a mook, but its his guys sitting in the Baghdad ministries now - not Zarqs, or Douris, or Sadrs. He has been skillful in many ways - and i can see arguments (form his POV) for the broad Shiite alliance - I just think its causing problems now. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-09-22 16:15 |
| #12 LH: this may point to political mistakes by Sistani - by going for a united Shiite front at the national level, it makes it difficult tor Jaafari to take on the locals in Basra - Sadrists and SCIRI. I've said from the beginning that Sistani is a mook who can't tie his own shoelaces. He is not a factor, despite coalition and media efforts to prop him up. Sadr is a factor. Zarqawi is a factor. Al-Douri is a factor. Sistani is just a mook who'll be dragged around by whichever player wins. He is not a player in his own right. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-22 16:12 |
| #11 HUK: I doubt that would have worked - never did in Northern Ireland and would give the Islamonazis a cause. British forces never pressed it in N Ireland. The British public got cold feet. This kind of thing works but you either have to have domestic public support or not have to worry about public support at all (i.e. like the Chinese government). There is no chance of British public support for this kind of thing. It works, but there is no public support for it. There is also no chance that the Labor party would support it. The American public would certainly be horrified - look at the reaction after the hazings at Abu Ghraib. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-22 16:07 |
| #10 "Oops, somebody blew up your power lines again, you say. Gosh, awfully sorry, but we're quite busy with the riots and all. Hope you get that fixed real soon. Bye." |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-09-22 12:00 |
| #9 this may point to political mistakes by Sistani - by going for a united Shiite front at the national level, it makes it difficult tor Jaafari to take on the locals in Basra - Sadrists and SCIRI. Ultimately the Shiite alliance looks less and less tenable - but will the more moderate Shiitte elements be willing otto rely more on Kurds, and even Sunni Arabs? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-09-22 11:15 |
| #8 The delusions start early today... |
| Posted by: JerseyMike 2005-09-22 08:40 |
| #7 Yep, billions of dollars spent and thousands of lives lost just to create another fascist Islamic hell-hole which will no doubt be a source of terrorism in the West for years to come. Neato. |
| Posted by: Gleack Glinerong9445 2005-09-22 08:10 |
| #6 I doubt that would have worked - never did in Northern Ireland and would give the Islamonazis a cause. About time the Brits stopped co-operating on key infrastructure projects. Let it become the shithole it once was. Spiritual poverty breeds intellectual poverty breeds social poverty. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2005-09-22 07:27 |
| #5 If the Brits gunned that crowd down they wouldn't be nearly so quick to start another riot. |
| Posted by: mac 2005-09-22 05:27 |
| #4 British media is reporting that al-Sadrites were effectively in control of Basra policing. The Brits who attacked the jail did not attack a national Iraqi force. Apparently, both Sunni and Shiite Iraqis are chosing Islamic constitutions. I have to ask: has the billions spent in Iraq by Americans, been wasted to the benefit of the same kind of Islamofascist animals who perpetrated the 9-11 atrocities? Even oil production in Iraq is worse than the post Saddam levels of 2.3 million per day. Sabotage has reduced production to 1.6 million PD. Either get tough or get out. I argue for getting tough. Why do so many Rantburgers support status quo policies in Iraq? Something is not penetrating. |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2005-09-22 03:49 |
| #3 There was a riot that occured as the British pulled up to the police station. There is no apology required for removing the prisoners from the center of a riot. |
| Posted by: RG 2005-09-22 03:08 |
| #2 sorry my computer is acting up that was me |
| Posted by: Jan 2005-09-22 02:06 |
| #1 WTF. They shouldn't apologize. They better not. Compensation?! Geez |
| Posted by: Phuter Shimp8358 2005-09-22 02:05 |