soc.culture.iraq

As Bush claims success in Iraq, the British leave Basra

By Leila Fadel and Ali Omar al Basri, McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD - While President Bush Monday tried to buttress his case for staying
in Iraq , the last 500 British troops retreated from Basra and left the
oil-rich, strategically important southern city in the hands of Iraqi
security forces.

....British forces sustained heavy attacks by Shiite cleric Muqtada al
Sadr's Mahdi Army militia for more than a year, and his followers Monday
touted their withdrawal as a victory against the "occupation".

"If our presence on the streets is inflammatory, it's better (that) we're
out," said a Western diplomat in Baghdad , who said she was confident that
the Iraqi security forces, although they've been heavily infiltrated by
Sadr's men and by members of the rival Badr Corps , could handle the
second-largest city in Iraq . The diplomat spoke on the condition of
anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak on the record.


The Mahdi Army, which had been bombarding the British in Basra with daily
mortar attacks, and has the largest on the ground Shiite militia, declared
the withdrawal a victory.

"It gives us great pleasure and pride, and this came about because of the
hits of the honorable resistance represented by the Mahdi Army that resisted
so the occupier would leave," a leading member of the Mahdi Army said. "We
are so happy that our efforts and sacrifices were crowned by success."

Local leaders heralded the withdrawal as a "dream." A high-ranking police
official, however, said he fears that with the British exit, the Americans
may try to enter the city, which he said would provoke a much higher level
of violence.


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