Patrick Cockburn on British Failure in Basra
September 3, 2007 6:48 am Basra, IraqThe British failure is almost total after four years of effort and the death of 168 personnel. “Basras residents and militiamen view this not as an orderly withdrawal but rather as an ignominious defeat,” says a report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “Today, the city is controlled by militias, seemingly more powerful and unconstrained than before.”