General condemns US Iraq policy

Last Modified: 01 Sep 2007
By: Sue Turton

Britain's former top general lashes the Americans over failures in Iraq - as the Pentagon prepares to take over from the Brits in Basra.

Britain's former top general lashes the Americans over failures in Iraq - as the Pentagon prepares to take over from the Brits in Basra.

Is it a surrender - or a successful transition of power? The battle now is for interpretation, and the man who led British forces into Iraq in 2003 is in no doubt it's the Americans, not the Brits who have got it wrong.

In his autobiography he reveals just how far from united the coalition forces were, attacking the former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld as "intellectually bankrupt" and describing his suggestion that US forces "don't do nation-building" as "nonsensical". Rumsfeld he adds is "one of those most responsible for the current situation in Iraq."

The general goes on to blame the rise of the insurgency on the fact that the Pentagon, not the state department took over the running of the country, a view also held by other former military leaders.

The general's attack won't help tensions between the US and British forces over Iraq, but President Bush, who voiced his own frustrations over Iraq's security forces at a meeting with his own military leaders last night, has louder detractors closer to home.

Next Tuesday a grim report is expected to be delivered to Congress detailing how the country has achieved few of the political and security goals set by Washington. The president is hoping for better news when General Petraeus delivers his status report a week later.

The Pentagon has now confirmed plans are being drawn up to deploy troops to Basra as and when the Brits pull out - the inference is that they're letting the side down. Just last month American officials described the withdrawal as surrender - General Jackson told the Daily Telegraph who are serialising his book he's having none of it.

Of the four provinces under British control he reports mission accomplished in three: al-Muthanna where control was handed over to the Iraqis in July last year, Dhi Qar where they withdrew two months later and Maysan which they left last April. In Basra 500 troops are stationed inside the city with a further 5000 based out at the airport.

In an attempt to spin a British success in Iraq the foreign secretary David Miliband wrote in the Washington Post this week how the UK had trained an Iraqi army division in Basra and expected to hand over control within months, not years.

There was one bit of good news out of Iraq this week but now that looks to be on shaky ground after US and Iraqi forces rammed vehicles out of the way in a raid on Sadr City and detained three suspects - Shiite militia leader Moqtada al Sadr had declared a six month ceasefire. Which Sadr's armed followers had agreed to but only if the authorities left them alone.