Basra statement from Brigadier John Lorimer

[sabra]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1574398,00.html

Basra statement from Brigadier John Lorimer

Following is a statement from Brigadier John Lorimer, commander of 12 mechanised brigade, on yesterday's incidents in Basra.
"During the morning two British soldiers were detained at the Jamiat police station in Basra. Under Iraqi law, as MNF soldiers, they should have been handed over to the coalition authorities. The consul general and I asked repeatedly for this but it did not happen.

"During the day we went to exhaustive lengths to achieve the handover of the soldiers. And in fact, as a result, we understand that the Iraqi interior minister personally ordered the release of the soldiers. However, that order seems to have been ignored.

"From an early stage, I had good reason to believe that the lives of the two soldiers were at risk and troops were sent to the area of Basra near the police station to help ensure their safety by providing a cordon. As shown on television, these troops were attacked with fire-bombs and rockets by a violent and determined crowd.

"Later in the day, however, I became more concerned about the safety of the two soldiers after we received information that they had been handed over to militia elements. As a result I took the difficult decision to order entry to the Jamiat police station. By taking this action we were able to confirm that the soldiers were no longer being held by the IPS . An operation was then mounted to rescue them from a house in Basra.

[confludemocrat]

1. So the issue is Iraqi disobedience? Rather than the black ops criminals

being caught red-handed. Their lives were at risk? Who caused that?

[IndianaGreen]

2. Those weren't soldiers, they were SAS assassins disguised as Arabs

I want to thank Britain for showing Iraqis that their government is a mere puppet of Bush and Tony, and that they have no say so on what the foreign occupation forces do in their country.

[moodforaday]

3. How can these people

spin so much with straight faces? Not a word on the undercover aspect, not a word about those guys wearing civilian clothing, not a word about them shooting at Iraqi police, not a word about the alleged explosives they carried in their unmarked car - not even a word of denial.

[confludemocrat]

4. dupe delete

[moodforaday]

5. self-deleted

accidentally posted twice, sorry

[IndianaGreen]

6. Perhaps some of the terrorism against the Shias was carried out by US/UK?

Perhaps there is an evil plan in place to radicalize the Shias against the Sunni insurgency by staging terrorist acts against the Shia and blaming the Sunnis.

Never underestimate the capacity for the US and the UK to do evil.

[The Doctor.]

7. Well, a new seed of hatred has been sown...

Mission Accomplished.

[merwin]

8. This is how you know it is a lie:

"It was a difficult day yesterday, but we have put this behind us and will move on."

[IndianaGreen]

11. Is Karl Rove writing the British press releases?

Or are they just mere clones of Bush's PR people?

[soup]

13. Thank you, merwin.

I saw the same thing in that statement. Guess they got tired of 'morphing' the story, so decided to just stop talking about it.

[Inland]

9. Well, at least we are getting good at battling Iraqi allies

If you can't defeat your enemies, defeat your friends.

[confludemocrat]

14. LOL

if nothing else

[jimshoes]

15. That's the ticket...

they should have thought of that sooner.

[soup]

10. That's that, then.

We can all move along now. No need to question what the hell was going on - or why? Were they in a car filled with explosives? fahgeddaboudit. Who cares why they were being held - or why? It's history. Who cares who else was in the house that they were rescued from? There was 'slight damage' to the house when the rescue took place. That's good enough. Why worry our beautiful minds with this nonsense? What happened to the 'militia' that were holding them? Was there a firefight? Where are they now? Who cares? It's over.

>"It was a difficult day yesterday, but we have put this behind us and will move on."<

I really hate this shit.

[eissa]

12. That's fair

Our guys are handed right back to us to deal with (let go). Their people are placed in Abu Gharib or shipped off to Gitmo to be tortured and humiliated. They hate us for our freedoms --- NOT.

[rocktivity]

16. What were they doing firing on civilians and police officers?

I doubt they were detained because the Iraqi police had nothing better to do!!!

:mad:
rocknation

[Judi Lynn]

17. Reuters story: Iraq denounces British rescue in Basra

Iraq denounces British rescue in Basra
Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:47 PM ET

By Alaa Habib
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq denounced British forces on Tuesday over a dramatic rescue of two undercover soldiers that could stoke hostility toward foreign troops in increasingly volatile southern Iraq.

British troops used an armored fighting vehicle on Monday to burst into an Iraqi jail in search of soldiers held by police in Basra. The British commander said he learned they had been handed to militia and ordered their rescue from a nearby house.

"It is a very unfortunate development that the British forces should try to release their forces the way it happened," Haider al-Ebadi, an adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, told a news conference in Baghdad.

The operation followed rioting that began, according to police and local officials, when the two soldiers fired on a police patrol. At least two Iraqis were killed in the violence.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-09-20T164734Z_01_HO031959_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml

[moodforaday]

18. Thanks! From the Reuters report:

In Iraq, state television footage showed the two soldiers unshaven and looking nervous as Iraqi police looked over wigs, Arab headresses, an anti-tank missile and communications equipment, all apparently used in their mission.
Images of the pair seemed sure to fuel suspicions by militias in Basra and elsewhere who believe foreign troops are on a secret mission to exploit Iraq. (...)
"What the two Britons did was literally international terrorism," Ali al-Yassiri, an aide to Sadr, told Reuters.
"If the British had condemned this, it would have calmed the situation but instead they came and demanded them back which sets a dangerous precedent."

Has there been a clearer case of western-sponsored terrorism in Iraq? I wonder how far the media are going to take it. So far, this story is being reported matter-of-factly, with no comment and certainy no outrage. I guess when anyone asks the answer is again going to be "it's old news".

[norml]

19. The day that Iraqi anger exploded in the face of the British occupiers

The day that Iraqi anger exploded in the face of the British occupiers
By Helen McCormack
Published: 20 September 2005


The dramatic events began to unfold just before dawn yesterday, when two British nationals were detained by Iraqi authorities. It emerged later that they were British soldiers. Dressed in plain clothes - according to some they were wearing traditional Arab dress - the two men had been driving in an unmarked car when they arrived at a checkpoint in the city.

In the confrontation that followed, shots were fired, and two Iraqi policemen were shot, one of whom later died. The Iraqi authorities blamed the men, reported to be undercover commandos, and arrested them.

Mohammed al-Abadi, an official in the Basra governorate said that the two men had looked suspicious to police. "A policeman approached them and then one of these guys fired at him. Then the police managed to capture them," he said.

"They refused to say what their mission was. They said they were British soldiers and ask their commander about their mission," he added.


snip


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article313848.ece

[gratuitous]

20. Oh, I see

When the Bushistas detain people indefinitely without charge or evidence, that's just fog of war stuff. When our puppet regime scoops up the "wrong" folks, it's okay to just bulldoze their prison and spring 'em.

Never apologize. Never explain.

[redqueen]

21. Might makes right.

Shame that so many seem to find it so easy to just sit back and avert their eyes.

[daleo]

22. It took a day to come up with some pathetic lies.

No mention at all of what the soldiers were up to, of course. They will just pretend nothing happened.