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thedrifter
03-31-09, 06:16 AM
April 1, 2009
U.S. Takes Over as Britain Begins Basra Pullout
By STEPHEN FARRELL and ALAN COWELL

BASRA, Iraq -- After six years as America’s closest western ally in Iraq, Britain handed over command in the Basra area to the United States on Tuesday as a prelude to withdrawing its last 4,000 troops from the country.

At its height, the British commitment to the American-led invasion of Iraq in March, 2003, totaled more than 40,000 personnel including ground troops and pilots. But, with its army stretched by a growing deployment in Afghanistan, Britain has gradually scaled back its presence and handed over security duties to Iraqi forces.

At a ceremony in Basra, Maj. Gen. Andy Salmon of Britain’s Royal Marines handed control of forces in the Basra area to U.S. Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, Britain’s Press Association news agency reported.

Since 2003, some 179 British military personnel have died in Iraq. Most British troops are set to leave the country by July.

“We stayed the course and we endured,” General Salmon said, according to the Press Association.

“I know that it was a very difficult start -- we all know that. We know that actually we went through some difficult times. So did the U.S. Army. We all went through difficult times,” he said.

General Oates said the U.S. military would “pick up where the British forces have left off,” the Press Association reported, calling their departure a “bittersweet day.”

Speaking at a handover ceremony, Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of American forces in Iraq, praised the British deployment in Iraq. “None of this has been easy. We have faced tremendous adversity,” he said, telling British representatives: “You have given the people of Iraq an opportunity to build a bright and prosperous future.” He said the handover represented a “transition, not an end.”

Stephen Farrell reported from Basra, Iraq, and Alan Cowell from Paris.

Ellie