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| Iraq | |
| Basra hopes US forces emulate British - Roto-Reuters | |
| 2009-03-31 | |
| People in the Iraqi city of Basra fear the US troops taking over from departing British forces, whose relatively light touch contrasts with the US military's fearsome, and sometimes trigger-happy, reputation. Those interviewed in Iraq's second city said British forces understood Iraq better, given Britain drew up and ran modern Iraq early in the 20th century, and that British troops had treated them relatively well since they invaded in 2003. "The British have studied Iraq and understand our culture and religion. Americans kill and do what they want. We've seen the British get attacked ... but they respect the citizen, and do not fire back randomly," said student Uday Jaffer. Iraqi forces are responsible for security in the south, but Britain has been helping with training and other support. British soldiers are a common sight in Basra. "We hope that the US forces are like the British. There is fear unfortunately ... We've all seen Vietnam war films. Their military operations are frightful," said Abdul Aali al-Moussawi, one of Basra's respected Shia clerics. Some 850 US military police have been in Basra since August training Iraqi police, but they are little noticed.
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| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #1 Fearsome is good. You know not to screw with them. Watch for a roundup of Iranian spies and saboteurs. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-31 19:07 |