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Hi Steel Wolf,

Thanks for the info mate. I’m glad you got out of there unscathed!

Some articles that I have read have suggested that the South of Iraq will become relatively peaceful once the British leave as the majority of attacks seem to be against UK forces. Do you believe this will be the case? I’ve heard that Basra etc was pretty lawless even during Saddam’s time (and he had much larger forces based there than Multi-National forces do at the moment). Do you think that the militia competition there at the moment is a continuation of this or something that will become much worse when British forces/ all forces eventually leave Iraq?

I believe (from the discussed article and wider reading) that the UK still has forces at Basra Palace (for a few more weeks at least). This is where the action cited in the article appearts to have taken place. Do you see indirect fire attacks becoming more intense on the airfield when the Basra Palace position is closed?

From what I understand, UK troops seem to prefer the war in Afghanistan to Iraq (as the UK increases its presence in Afghanistan) as fighting there is more conventional and less constrained etc. Is that the impression you recieved?

Sorry for all the questions, but I’m genuinely very interested in what’s going on in Iraq at the moment as the UK press is even worse than the US when it comes to that conflict.

Cheers,

UK

Some articles that I have read have suggested that the South of Iraq will become relatively peaceful once the British leave as the majority of attacks seem to be against UK forces. ... Do you think that the militia competition there at the moment is a continuation of this or something that will become much worse when British forces/ all forces eventually leave Iraq?

What's going to happen is that the groups vying for power are going to throw down with each other after the Brits have left. While they're happy to take Iranian rockets to drive out the foreign invaders, being an Iranian puppet is politically untenable for an Iraqi Shia. They hate Iran, and only their slightly greater hate of a foreign presence makes taking their weapons acceptable.

Once the UK leaves, the various Shia factions will abandon the Iranians, and go nuts on each other. Some want Sharia, others want hardcore Sharia, others want semi-Sharia organized crime.

So they got that going for them. Which is nice.

Anyway, with the UK gone, those factions will kill each other until one wins. They're already starting at it, but the main event won't start until the with-drawl. I doubt it will be that bloody for those outside the factions themselves, but the whole town will wind up being ruled by whoever wins.

I believe (from the discussed article and wider reading) that the UK still has forces at Basra Palace (for a few more weeks at least). This is where the action cited in the article appearts to have taken place. Do you see indirect fire attacks becoming more intense on the airfield when the Basra Palace position is closed?

I'm not sure as to the actual status of the palace, as in if there is any presence left, but the folks I work with had recently relocated from there. It's no secret that it's being de-occupied. If there's any presence remaining, it's considerably less than before. As for the intensity of the attacks, I'd prefer not to speculate further on the details.

From what I understand, UK troops seem to prefer the war in Afghanistan to Iraq (as the UK increases its presence in Afghanistan) as fighting there is more conventional and less constrained etc. Is that the impression you recieved?

That's probably a good way of putting it. The UK troops are willing and able to fight, but (off the record) they have a universally low opinion of the wisdom of the Iraqi endeavor in general, and of President Bush/PM Blair in particular.

Afghanistan is basically a 4th world country, so I wouldn't say that anyone looks forward to going, per se. But it's safe to say that they see it as a far more worthwhile and potentially successful task than Iraq.

I’m genuinely very interested in what’s going on in Iraq at the moment as the UK press is even worse than the US when it comes to that conflict.

Because you are posting on FR you may already be aware of these blogs but, just in case here you go.
http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/08/
Bill has been embedded in Iraq and has wonderfully thought out insights to the "Long War."
Bill is also currently expanding his operations by adding an additional personnel to the embed team. Great graphical maps and also reports on Pakistan and Afghanistan wars.

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/
Michael Yon is truly a giant of our time.
When it's all said and done he may end up greater then WWII's Ernie Pyle.
Great crisp writing and even better photographer.
Michael is on the ground with American, British and the Iraqi forces. If you are already aware of these resources then I apologize for taking up your time.