British occupation of southern Iraq: the Iraqi verdict

This morning, British troops handed control of Basra province over to the Iraqi authorities.

While you and I might have our own views on the British occupation, clearly the only judgement that really matters is that of the people of southern Iraq themselves. According to poll commissioned by the BBC, only 2 per cent of Basra residents believe the British have had a positive effect on their lives since the invasion of 2003. 86 per cent say the effect has been negative. 66 per cent said that today's handover from British to Iraqi forces would improve security in the short term, 72 per cent said that it would improve security in the long term. 5 per cent in each case said that security would deteriorate when the British pulled out.

83 per cent of Basrawis said they wanted British troops to leave Iraq altogether, with 63 per cent saying they should leave the Middle East entirely. If you think that makes the troop's continued presence illegitimate, the British government will remind you that we are there at the invitation of the democratically elected Iraqi government. The fact that the democratically elected Iraqi government is summarily ignoring the long-standing will of the vast majority of Iraqis on one of the biggest issues facing their country is neither here nor there. This is not a denial of democracy, as it may appear to the untrained eye, but an expression of it. Got that? Good.

For an analysis and review of the British occupation, see my article for Le Monde Diplomatique, "Britiain's Failure in Iraq".