Britain defends Iraq role on U.S. editorial pages

By Luke Baker

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain fought back against criticism in Washington over its performance in Iraq on Friday, taking the unusual step of publishing an editorial in a U.S. newspaper staunchly defending its record.

The opinion-editorial, jointly signed by the defense and foreign ministers, follows weeks of commentary, largely in the American press, in which military analysts, former generals and unnamed administration sources have suggested that British forces have failed in Basra and are set to flee.

The barrage has built up since Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair, Washington's staunchest ally, as British prime minister in June, and spurred the response from Defence Secretary Des Browne and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

"Recent weeks have brought a lot of misplaced criticism of the United Kingdom's role in southern Iraq. It is time to set the record straight," they wrote in the Washington Post.

"The question some people have asked is: Have British forces failed in Basra? The answer is no.

"We believe we remain on track to complete the return of full sovereignty to the Iraqi people as planned. The United Kingdom is sticking to the mission we took on four years ago."

While the re-statement of its commitment may assuage some critics and reassure the administration of President George W. Bush, there are growing calls in Britain for troops to be withdrawn, particularly with the rate of soldiers' deaths increasing in recent weeks.

Britain has 5,500 troops in Iraq, based in two locations in Basra, in the far south of the country. Five thousand are based at a vast airport complex on the city's outskirts and the remainder in an old palace in the city centre. There are plans to pull the 500 at the Basra Palace out of the country soon.

BRITISH ROLE

Most British troops in Iraq are on what the government describes as "overwatch", protecting their bases, training Iraqi forces and responding to threats only if attacked. They also protect U.S. supply routes from Kuwait.

Three of the four Iraqi provinces for which Britain was responsible have already been handed over to Iraqi authority, and the fourth, Basra, is expected to be handed over in the coming months, paving the way for Britain to withdraw.

However, if it were to withdraw, either later this year or early in 2008, it could leave U.S. troops exposed at a critical time, especially if U.S. brigades had to be redeployed south.

The uncertainty over what decision Britain will take has raised tensions with its key ally ahead of a strategy report by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, to be delivered to Congress in two weeks.

Washington is concerned that if Britain were to pull out, Basra could disintegrate into intra-sectarian fighting. In their editorial, Britain's ministers tried to calm those concerns.

"There is no anti-government insurgency, and very little evidence of an al Qaeda presence in southern Iraq," they said.