Britain defends its Iraq role

Britain fought back against criticism in Washington over its performance in Iraq on Friday, taking the unusual step of publishing an editorial in a US newspaper staunchly defending its record.
The opinion-editorial, jointly signed by the defence and foreign ministers, follows weeks of commentary, largely in the American press, in which military analysts, former generals and unnamed administration sources have suggested that British forces have failed in Basra and are set to flee.
The barrage has built up since Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair, Washington's staunchest ally, as British prime minister in June, and spurred the response from Defence Secretary Des Browne and Foreign Secretary David Miliband. "Recent weeks have brought a lot of misplaced criticism of the United Kingdom's role in southern Iraq. It is time to set the record straight," they wrote in the Washington Post.
"The question some people have asked is: Have British forces failed in Basra? The answer is no. "We believe we remain on track to complete the return of full sovereignty to the Iraqi people as planned. The United Kingdom is sticking to the mission we took on four years ago."
While the re-statement of its commitment may assuage some critics and reassure the administration of President George W. Bush, there are growing calls in Britain for troops to be withdrawn, particularly with the rate of soldiers' deaths increasing in recent weeks. "There is no anti-government insurgency, and very little evidence of an al Qaeda presence in southern Iraq," they said. "But there is intense political competition between longstanding rival Shia movements, too often spilling over into violence. To recognise that such challenges remain is not to accept that our mission in southern Iraq is failing."
The editorial laid out the work Britain has done in building up Iraqi security forces and rebuilding parts of the infrastructure. But it said the longer term task of rebuilding the society from the bottom up would require Iraqi commitment. "While outsiders can support, advise and encourage, only Iraqi leaders can make the political decisions and compromises essential to the future of their country... We urge Iraq's political leaders to take the necessary steps."