News On Iran & Its NeighboursIraqUS advice unheeded in Basra campaign: Petraeus

US advice unheeded in Basra campaign: Petraeus

-

AFP: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki disregarded US advice in launching a campaign in Basra last month that plunged Iraqi troops in fighting without adequate preparation, the US commander in Iraq said Friday. WASHINGTON (AFP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki disregarded US advice in launching a campaign in Basra last month that plunged Iraqi troops in fighting without adequate preparation, the US commander in Iraq said Friday.

General David Petraeus said US and Iraqi officers had developed a more deliberate plan to restore order in the strategic port city over a period of several months.

But after they presented it on March 21, Petraeus said he was pulled aside by Iraq’s national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie and quietly told that Maliki did not think it addressed the situation in Basra quickly enough.

“So we went over and met with him and he laid out what he had directed, and it was the deployment of two brigades and these high-end units that I talked about,” he told reporters here.

The units were to move within 36 hours, he said.

“So then on Monday, (Maliki) went down there and all of a sudden they were in combat,” Petraeus said.

The campaign quickly stalled with large numbers of police and army troops deserting or refusing to fight, and finally stopped April 1 after Iran got the two sides to pull back.

But fighting has continued in Baghdad and tensions are high in other southern cities amid threats by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to end a ceasefire he imposed on his followers in August.

A top aide to Sadr was gunned down Friday in holy city of Najaf, further inflaming the situation.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Petraeus said the Iraqi campaign was “not adequately planned or prepared.”

He was asked by reporters Friday what advice he had given Maliki.

“All I said was, ‘Let’s be careful here now, because we’ve made some progress, and we need to be thoughtful and deliberate as we move into this,” he said.

“By the way, Maliki did it on his own,” he added.

He said the Iraqis had laid out lines of operations for the campaign ahead of time, and they appeared to have been taken from the more elaborate plan drawn up by the US and Iraqi officers.

And yet, said Petraeus, “like I said all of a sudden ‘boom’, we’re into it.”

“And then there was a scramble,” he said.

He said a company from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division was attached to some Iraqi units as advisers “just really because we were having a problem figuring out where was the front line.”

US and British aviation also joined the fight, he said.

“Initially there was a desire for this to be an Iraqi operation. This was a sovereignty demonstration,” he said.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Britain, France, Germany call for new Iran sanctions

AFP: Britain, France and Germany have officially called for...

Iran: World Record Hold in Domestic Violence

Iran has yet another world record to add to...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you