thedrifter
05-19-07, 07:05 AM
Blair on last visit to Iraq as shells hit Green Zone
by Dave Clark
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair met his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday at the start of his final visit to the war-torn city of Baghdad before he leaves office next month.
Blair met Maliki and President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone shortly after two mortar shells hit the walled district, a reminder that the Iraq war rages on four years after the US and British invasion.
The visit was not announced in advance for security reasons, and the British embassy would not release details of Blair's programme, but Maliki's office released photographs of the three leaders talking and smiling broadly.
Blair has said he will step down as British leader on June 27 after 10 years in office, and many commentators attribute his political demise to plummeting public support for his decision to back the US-led invasion of Iraq.
"He's in Baghdad against a backdrop of the continuing major security operation but also significant developments in Iraqi politics," Blair's spokesman told reporters, according to the Downing Street press office.
The spokesman said Blair was keen to see Iraq's beleaguered government build on recent moves to promote ties with Sunni tribal leaders once suspicious of the Shiite-led ruling coalition.
"The next few months are crucial in building on that momentum," he said. "What the prime minister will want to highlight in this visit is the fundamental link between politics and security."
Former US president Jimmy Carter on Saturday attacked Blair for his support of President George W. Bush's strategy in Iraq, which he dubbed: "Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient.
"I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world," Carter added in a BBC radio interview.
Just before Blair's visit was revealed publicly, two mortar shells hit the Green Zone which houses the British and US embassies and Maliki's office.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties nor if the attack -- part of a mounting series of daily assaults on the walled district -- was timed to coincide with Blair's arrival.
In March 2003, Blair ordered British forces to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and, four years on 7,100 soldiers are still deployed in and around the southern city of Basra battling insurgents and illegal militias.
Last month 12 British troops were killed in the bloodiest single month for their force since the invasion itself, and their two remaining bases in the country come under almost daily mortar and rocket fire.
Domestic public support for the war has collapsed, and Blair has previously announced that British forces would begin to withdraw from Iraq in August.
Meanwhile, Basra itself is in the grip of a vicious turf war between rival Shiite factions bent on controlling Iraq's massive oil exports.
Blair stands by his decision to take part in the operation to topple the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, despite the fact that his alleged arsenal of chemical and biological weapons was never found.
But the British leader -- who last visited Iraq in December and is now on a sort of valedictory world tour -- admits that the four years since the invasion proved more dangerous than expected.
"There's no doubt at all it's immensely challenging, immensely difficult, but also there is a huge amount that is being done," he said this week at his final joint Washington news conference with Bush.
Basra's citizens, who were persecuted under Saddam's rule, welcomed his fall and initially relations with the British troops went well.
But in the chaos that has descended on the country since the invasion, American and British troops have increasingly found themselves blamed for the collapse in public services and the rise of sectarian and political militias.
Control of Basra, Iraq's main oil port, is disputed by rival Shiite clans and political groups, many of them armed and trained by nearby Iran.
In March, Iranian naval forces captured 15 British sailors and marines in the waters of the Gulf and held them for two tense weeks, before freeing them at a humiliating televised ceremony.
The incident was only the latest embarrassing setback for the British military, which has lost 114 soldiers in action since the invasion.
Most British forces are now concentrated on Basra air station, a sprawling base outside the city, after two fortified compounds inside the built-up area were handed over to the fledgling 10th division of the Iraqi Army.
Ellie
by Dave Clark
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair met his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday at the start of his final visit to the war-torn city of Baghdad before he leaves office next month.
Blair met Maliki and President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone shortly after two mortar shells hit the walled district, a reminder that the Iraq war rages on four years after the US and British invasion.
The visit was not announced in advance for security reasons, and the British embassy would not release details of Blair's programme, but Maliki's office released photographs of the three leaders talking and smiling broadly.
Blair has said he will step down as British leader on June 27 after 10 years in office, and many commentators attribute his political demise to plummeting public support for his decision to back the US-led invasion of Iraq.
"He's in Baghdad against a backdrop of the continuing major security operation but also significant developments in Iraqi politics," Blair's spokesman told reporters, according to the Downing Street press office.
The spokesman said Blair was keen to see Iraq's beleaguered government build on recent moves to promote ties with Sunni tribal leaders once suspicious of the Shiite-led ruling coalition.
"The next few months are crucial in building on that momentum," he said. "What the prime minister will want to highlight in this visit is the fundamental link between politics and security."
Former US president Jimmy Carter on Saturday attacked Blair for his support of President George W. Bush's strategy in Iraq, which he dubbed: "Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient.
"I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world," Carter added in a BBC radio interview.
Just before Blair's visit was revealed publicly, two mortar shells hit the Green Zone which houses the British and US embassies and Maliki's office.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties nor if the attack -- part of a mounting series of daily assaults on the walled district -- was timed to coincide with Blair's arrival.
In March 2003, Blair ordered British forces to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and, four years on 7,100 soldiers are still deployed in and around the southern city of Basra battling insurgents and illegal militias.
Last month 12 British troops were killed in the bloodiest single month for their force since the invasion itself, and their two remaining bases in the country come under almost daily mortar and rocket fire.
Domestic public support for the war has collapsed, and Blair has previously announced that British forces would begin to withdraw from Iraq in August.
Meanwhile, Basra itself is in the grip of a vicious turf war between rival Shiite factions bent on controlling Iraq's massive oil exports.
Blair stands by his decision to take part in the operation to topple the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, despite the fact that his alleged arsenal of chemical and biological weapons was never found.
But the British leader -- who last visited Iraq in December and is now on a sort of valedictory world tour -- admits that the four years since the invasion proved more dangerous than expected.
"There's no doubt at all it's immensely challenging, immensely difficult, but also there is a huge amount that is being done," he said this week at his final joint Washington news conference with Bush.
Basra's citizens, who were persecuted under Saddam's rule, welcomed his fall and initially relations with the British troops went well.
But in the chaos that has descended on the country since the invasion, American and British troops have increasingly found themselves blamed for the collapse in public services and the rise of sectarian and political militias.
Control of Basra, Iraq's main oil port, is disputed by rival Shiite clans and political groups, many of them armed and trained by nearby Iran.
In March, Iranian naval forces captured 15 British sailors and marines in the waters of the Gulf and held them for two tense weeks, before freeing them at a humiliating televised ceremony.
The incident was only the latest embarrassing setback for the British military, which has lost 114 soldiers in action since the invasion.
Most British forces are now concentrated on Basra air station, a sprawling base outside the city, after two fortified compounds inside the built-up area were handed over to the fledgling 10th division of the Iraqi Army.
Ellie