The British Aren't Coming - The invasion was "W"rong and the occupation has no real definition other than destructive.

The West's presence in Iraq was never received well. While removing Saddam was a priority to most Iraqis regardless of ethnicity, the continued occupation and Western priorities were never a priority with any of the citizenry and/or the Parliament that favors good relations with Iran.

The infrastruture problems that still plague Iraq, including intact oil pipelines, stability outside the Green Zone, continue to haunt the current 'central authority' with 'diplomacy' as the sole resolve to any issues.

The interesting dynamics that allowed such decentralized authority to 'take hold' in Iraq were the long established "No Fly Zones" which provided stability for the Kurds and Southern Shia. Also contributing to the failing Iraqi infrastructure and ability of The West 'to muster the resources' of the Iraqis, was the poorly planned post invasion strategy that allowed Iraq to fall into anarchy thus escalating the need for local and regional militias.

Deploying troops out of Iraq should be a priority as the sincere fight against the threats against The West lie in the region of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir and India. The tensions between Iran and The West should somewhat dissipate with the exiting of The West to perhaps provide 'better' relations for diplomacy to work rather than aggression.



British Prime Minister Gordon arrives in the Green Zone on July 19, 2007 in Bagdad, Iraq. The surprise visit to the Middle East, will begin with the Prime Minister holding talks with Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki and military leaders in Baghdad today.
(Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images Europe)



(click title to entry - thank you) Today's agreement in Baghdad between Gordon Brown and the Iraqi prime minister to formally end Britain's military mission in Iraq by 31 May next year marks the end of one of the most controversial operations involving Britain's armed forces in modern times.
Opposition at home to the 2003 invasion and lack of any coherent post-invasion plan has had a serious impact on the morale of the armed forces, how they see the general public, and how the public regards them. Their initial welcome in Basra and Iraq's Shia-dominated south soon evaporated as militia filled the gap left by the failure to follow military action with economic and political progress.
At home, a growing feeling that British troops were not being appreciated led General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the army, to call for welcome-home parades.
In Basra, Britain's military commanders became increasingly frustrated by the time it took to train effective Iraqi security forces....