What Amerlka did has a strategy that is flawed.
The interrest lies in protecting the land from becoming an Iranian province. Here is a fight that sets the future of Irak.
Who's got the most to lose. This are the desperate moments
of old men that will run into the walls of their own lies.
Running away and letting the Iraki people more down after devastating their country and letting them sort it out for them selfs sounds great, doesn't it. No answer, run and hide under a stone. It will solve itself, Yihaa!

You have a responsibility here to millions of displaced people. There is no strategy for the people of Irak only one for the Americans.
You should do what should have been done from the beginning. Whithdraw from the cities and secure the borders.
Let in massive medical help and education and construction materials but leave it to the people to rebuild themselves a country to be proud of.

Rob, Nijmegen, Netherlands

I have followed the developments in Basra with great interest. I have a personal experience of the area, having trained the Iraqi Police for the last three years in Jordan and Basra City.

This article is incredibly honest and strikes the exact tone I found whilst working with these people. All of the Policemen I trained had allegiances to their faith and tribe before their country and many , if not all, were active in the militias which have complete control of Basra.

It was a very difficult situaution training these guys during the day knowing many of them were attacking us during the hours of darkness and setting road side bombs during the day.

This is a very intuitive report, and very accurate. The Militia effectively kicked us th4e British out of the City whee we hold the airport until they decide to send us home.

J B, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

I must commend Times Online for not being as mendacious as its brothers and sisters in the USA--the New York Times, CNN, and their ilk. But why not go, just for once, for the WHOLE truth? Why not say that this a pure occupation of Iraq--for its $30 worth of oil. Why not say that our friends, the Badr Brigades, are the equivalent of the El Salvadorean Death Squads, fascists and quislings who would sell their compatriots for a few Shekels? Why not sing a song of praise for the Iraqi people who, after five long long years, still fight the neo-colonialists? And why not wonder in amazement at the fact that their cops alone, unlike cops in Britain, the USA, or Colombia, are willing to forgo self-interest and desert to the side of justice, freedom, and national self-determination?

Long live freedom, justice, and the brave Sadrists! [ I do not share their religious ardor, but I do know a freedom fighter when I see one]

Dr. Moti Nissani, Framington Hills, USA

If anyone had read the book "Management of Savagery," this scenario was going to be played out. One of their strategies was to "infiltrate the elements of the Crusaders". They had planned to infuse their members directly into the occupiers' power structure, from police up into government positions. LIke a virus infusing its own DNA into the cellular material of the host, the Islamists infused their own members into all of Maliki's government and police AND army, ready for the day to reverse and become part of the resisiting citizens. Bush is a dolt and he has destroyed America's integrity, economy and role in the world.

Jacques Graber, Rancho Cordova, USA

Well, luckily Canadians did not have anything decisive to do with this, eh,
Ekk

Ekk, Collingwood, Ontario

"But if the British taught the police to shoot straight, they failed to instil a sense of unwavering loyalty to the State." Are you serious? Foreign Occupation troops did'nt instill enough nationalistic loyalties among the natives? I would say their "turn coating" is strong proof of their nationalism. Withdraw and let them sort it out, however hegemonic/demonic global capital won't allow this.

Sam Lowry, Portland, Oregon

Greg, you're right Americans can't retreat or surrender since we don't owning anything and there is nothing for the soldiers to return to.

It's over, and the Insurgents won. They drove us deeper into debt, over the edge and budget continues to hemorrhage. It's just a matter of time.

Watch the market, the dive in USD value, Oil spiking higher and good old US of A's assets are scooped for foreign investors; India, China, Singapore, UAE, Saudia Arabia, etc.

james roberts, addison, Texas

Greg, keep living in your fantasy world. Al-Qaeda in Iraq was always a chimera created by the Bush Administration-- the vast majority of Iraqi insurgents have long been nationalists and religionists who just want to evict US and British forces.

The Mahdi Army is an indigenous force of Iraqis, far more powerful than anything al-Qaeda could slap together. They don't need to score an overwhelming victory, just cause tremendous pain for the government and Coalition forces and inflict losses upon us. Then slink back into hiding, ready to strike again later at an opportune moment.

Davis, Dallas, TX

I doubt that the Mahdi army will be crushed any time soon, because the loyalty of that army to its leader :Moqtada al-Sadr,is much stronger,and more deeply rooted, than the loyalty of the government 's police and army to Al-Malky ' s regime,which is considered to be pro-occupation and a puppet for the Americans.
Secondly, at Saddam's hanging,you can hear the gaurds yelling the name of Moqtada repeatedly, and this- in addition to the above story- explain who is the true leader of the poor and less privileged Shiaa in Iraq.
Another argument for the survivability of Moqtada and his militia,is the backing of the Iranians,and let's face it ; the loyalty of the Shiaa factions in Iraq, is to Tehran and not to Baghdad ,which betrayed them for too long.
Moqtada is marking his territory, on the expectation that, after Bush leaves office, the Americans will drastically decrease their numbers and their roles.

Sam, Dallas, USA

The surge is working. The surge is working. Just another 6 months and we'll turn the corner. Victory is in sight, if only the faint of heart don't stab our heroic war leaders in the back. There's a light at the end of the tunnel....

Repeat as needed for the next hundred years.

L, Houston, USA

Does Kawiki always have to look on the bright side?

chuck, Sioux City, Iowa

The Mahdi army will be crushed. The US is now calling the shots in Basra. The US has shown over the last 9 months that it is now the best anti-insurgent force in history. The Mahdi army is no where near the organized force that Al Queda or the Sunni insurgents are (were). To J in Houston the rules of engagement changed with General Petraus and the surge. We do kill them when they are burying IEDs. In a couple of weeks this will be over and the Iraqi government will look very strong because of it. Old School Americans have a saying "no retreat, no surrender".
greg LA CA USA

greg, los angeles, usa

Kawika, don't worry. The little black helicopters will be coming for you shortly.

Bryan , Houston, USA

Perhaps we don't give our government enough credit. Perhaps, on purpose, we're spending billions of dollars to train and arm militia infiltrators who then turn against the government we support. That does some wonderful things for the US: First, it forces us to distrust everyone, harden our hearts, abandon coalition building, label everyone an enemy, and become better killers--just like Jesus would have wanted. Second, it feeds the cycle of violence in an oil-rich region to inflate fossil fuel prices, forcing us to explore alternative power sources. Third, and most importantly, it depletes our treasury, forcing us to tighten our belts and prepare for the day China forecloses on our country for outspending our means. Our grandchildren will speak Mandarin and pilot electric junks through the globally warmed waters flooding our cities to their jobs dismantling the remaining shards of our civil liberties so domestic tranquility can be preserved. I, for one, welcome our new overlords.

Kawika Holbrook, Campbell, California

It infuriates me to read about this. I knew long ago that some of them would turn on us after receiving training AND WEAPONS. The fighting over there will never stop. We should pull out and let them fight it out among themselves. The Rules of Engagement are a joke anyway. If we can't shoot them while they're hauling an IED across a field to eventually be buried under the road, then we should just leave.

J, Houston, USA

at the end of the day peace can only come from the iraqi people. If they dont want peace then let them stew. We helped remove a dictator, we could only do so much in laying the foundations for peace after that. Its time we let the iraqis take some responsibilty for themselves. Lets close down that base in basra and bring the troops home.

Andrew O'Neill, Liverpool, England

We wanted to bring democracy in Iraq, we got it, but Shiite style. We wanted to destroy the ruling Sunni class we got it, we destroyed them after 1300 hundred years of rule in Iraq. We wanted to destroy Iraq, we got that to, almost total destruction. We wanted for the majority to rule, we got that too, Shiism with plenty of guns to be used against us on behalf of Iran.
We wanted to crate a new police force, we got hat too, but a Shiite new police force from the clergy.
Anything we wanted to accomplish in Iraq we have so far. We wanted to avoid a civil war, we got that too. If we want the oil prices to go up here at home, we tell the Shiites to blow up some pipes and right way the price of oil go up here in the U.S . You name we got it in Iraq. Who is complaining any more about Iraq. Iraq is free, democratic, full of Wolfowitz flowers and the streets of are clean,orderly and the people are very happy.
Now that Iraq is exploding from top to bottom,that is another story.You get it now.

vespasianus, Paramus n.j, United States

Iraq is a majority S'hia country. If it had a proper democratically elected government it might be at war with the Sunnis, not with the S'hia.

Instead we drew up rules and decided who could and could not run for election.

The elections we gave them were unfair. A major leader did not have a fair chance to run for office.

The government we set them up with was not fairly elected; therefore, the population does not feel it owes that government any loyalty. Why are we surprised.

Sadly, we have sown the wind, and are now reaping the whirlwind.

Keith S, Winnipeg, Canada