Whilst the Iranian crisis continues to expose the soft belly of Blair's Britain, with a growing fear that the government makes noises as a substitute for a strategy, Basra provides a salutary comparison between the British and the American experiences.
Britain always had the easier territory to patrol, if the Kurdish safe haven is discounted. The southern Shi'a provinces were uniform in religion, though divided by faction, tribe and positioning in respect to Iran. Yet, having proved unable to bring stability and security, the British government decided to reduce troops and withdraw from the city proper. The consequences were predictably clear and have come to pass, as UPI reports:
The Mahdi Army, led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Fadhila Party, led by Grand Ayatollah Mohammed al-Yaacoubi, have been fighting in Basra's streets for four days.
The two groups are positioning themselves for control of the area as British troops prepare to exit, according to the Washington-based business risk analyst Eurasia Group. Both hold seats in Parliament and are making bids for key posts in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's upcoming Cabinet reshuffling, including he Oil Ministry spot.
Compare this with the context in which the United States has had to operate: a large conurbation increasingly torn apart by terrorism, sectarian killings and ethnic cleansing. Moreover, they have faced a full-blown insurgency in the Sunni provinces. The response is a new commander, Petraeus, more troops in the movement known as the 'Surge' and a greater willingness to patrol the streets.
This is the opposite of the response undertaken by the British government, to whose pipes the armed forces must dance. Faced with an intractable security situation, the British withdrew to barracks behind the obfuscating spin of tactical positioning. Early indications show that violence in Basra has grown although it is not yet clear if the 'Surge ' will prove effective in far more difficult circumstances. But, with 'fight or flight', the United States chose the former, Britain the latter. When will US cheerleaders for Blair accept that he talks tough and quietly retreats when the political calculus allows.