My contention that the British government disgraced us as a country by its conduct in Basra is proving more prophetic by the day. Blair stated that he would control the southern portion of Iraq and introduce security, stability and democracy to the peoples yearning to be free. The contemporary state of Basra after the withdrawal of British troops meets none of these tests.
The city s run by a corrupt slew of militias, gangsters and political parties with roots in the tribal kinship strata of the Shi'as. The militias are corrupt and view the spoils of government and oil as prizes for themselves and their families. Opponents are best slaughtered if they stand in the way or wish to cut down the power of the gangsters.
Two dozen Shiite political parties and their respective militias compete, often violently, over control of the oil sector, seaport profits, smuggling operations across the nearby Iranian border and political authority over Iraq’s economic nerve center. So while the sectarian tension that has marred life elsewhere is missing here, the strife itself is not.
The political economy of the militias will change as a few gain dominance. Perhaps the Mahdi Army will assert its authority and unify the city under a theocratic envelope. This will not be the thriving metropolis that Blair hoped to establish nextdoor to Kuwait and spells an end to devolved democratic structures in Iraq.
Meanwhile, more British troops are wounded by the militia's terrorist activities on the outskirts of Basra. The British army relies upon the Iraqi security forces to find the perpetrators. De facto, militia terrorists can strike at the British with as much impunity as a yob here in Blighty. The Iraqi army is fighting the Mahdi army within Basra itself according to some sources as it asserts territorial control.
In practice, the Iraqi army will need to act as the biggest bully in the yard, cleanse the local police and hang a few of the politicians for corruption. Any militiaman who disagrees dies. Once you make an example of a few in blood, the rest will self-regulate.