SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: British troops withdrew from Basra Monday just as US President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq. German commentators are scathing of both the British and American strategy.
Monday was a day of symbols in Iraq. Just as British forces were making their withdrawal from Basra in the south (more...), US President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Anbar province west of Baghdad.
Bush, who was accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, held talks at a US air base with Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The Pentagon described the meeting, which was Bush's third secret trip to Iraq in four years, as a "war council."
In an unusual move, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani also met with Bush at the air base. It was only the third time Maliki, who is Shiite, had visited the Sunni-dominated province, where violence has recently abated after Sunni tribal leaders and former insurgents joined forces with US troops to fight al-Qaida and other extremists.
Addressing troops at the base, Bush insisted any decision to withdraw troops would be "based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground, not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media. ... When we begin to draw down troops from Iraq, it will be from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure."
Bush said that Petraeus and Crocker had told him that "if the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces." He did not specify how many troops might be withdrawn or any possible timetable for withdrawal.
Monday's visit came just days before Petraeus and Crocker are due to deliver a much-anticipated report to Congress on the situation in Iraq and the success of Bush's "surge" strategy. It also coincided with the withdrawal of British troops (more...) from the southern city of Basra, which has caused tension between the UK and US.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted Monday that the pullout was not a defeat. He told the BBC that the withdrawal was "pre-planned and organized" and UK forces would take an "overwatch" role -- in other words, troops would not go out unless requested by Iraqi authorities, but they would still train and mentor Iraqi security forces. Brown said the number of British troops in Iraq would remain roughly the same, and that they could "re-intervene," if necessary. 'Tehran Will Be Delighted to Accept the Gift of Basra' (more)
Mark Alexander
