The British have had a far more peaceful time in Iraq than the Americans. The zone they occupy in the south is mainly populated by sympathetic Shiite Muslims, and residents say British troops -- experienced from their imperial past in Iraq -- treat the people with much more sensitivity.
The result is that the British military has had 14 soldiers killed in combat since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April, compared to more than 370 among the Americans, who patrol the central "Sunni Triangle," where the anti-occupation insurgency is at its hottest.
Iraqis in the south's main city, Basra, give the British high marks for showing more understanding of Iraqi culture and religion and having a softer touch in keeping security. Even while raiding homes, "they shake hands and are polite," said Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli, an aide to the hardline Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
For the British, being in Iraq is deja vu.
British troops seized Iraq from the Ottoman Turks in World War I and occupied the country. By 1920, the country was in open rebellion, which the UK crushed in three months of fighting. But the country remained unruly and difficult to govern until the UK granted full independence in 1932.
Today's 8,220-member British force is part of a multinational division of more than 13,000 forces from 13 countries that is responsible for four southern provinces covering about a quarter of Iraq, some 150,000km2 -- a region that is much less fertile ground for anti-occupation violence than the mainly Sunni regions north and west of Baghdad.
The Shiites who dominate the south were harshly persecuted by Saddam's regime and generally backed the war that forced him from power. Foreign fighters or Saddam loyalists thought to be behind the anti-US insurgency do not have a support base among the population.
No British soldier has been killed by hostile fire since Oct. 31.
"The truth is we do have a lot of experience in the peacekeeping area," said squadron leader Major David King. "But would we have the same problem had we been in control of Sunni areas? I don't know. We still take precautions."
Many here say the reason for the peace also lies with the way British soldiers treat the local population.
US soldiers' heavy-handed methods in Fallujah, Ramadi and other Sunni cities has fueled support for the insurgency in those areas.
Tribal leaders have been subjected to humiliating arrests in front of their tribesmen, hooded and handcuffed. US troops also were accused of putting their boots on the back of men's heads as they lay face down.
"The British are more experts in colonialism than the Americans," explained Sheik al-Bahadli in Basra. "I have never heard of a British soldier putting his foot on the head of an Iraqi while his hands are tied," said al-Bahadli.
"They are more civilized," said Rubab al-Sudani, dean of the history department at Basra University. "Americans behave like cowboys and are too rough with the people."
But even those who praise the British say they resent their presence as occupiers. And some criticize them for having too soft a touch, ignoring crime and militia violence in Basra and offering little support to Iraqi police trying to keep order.
"We are not happy with them," said al-Sudani. "We cannot accept the fact that someone from the outside is ruling us."
She and many others feel the British, as much as the Americans, are just looking for economic gains in Iraq, handing out contracts to foreign companies rather than Iraqis.
"If you scratch the surface a bit, you will see their real faces," said al-Sudani.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese