UK army commander: UK troops did not help Iraqi troops in Basra for fear of civilian deaths

British troops feared civilian casualties in Basra

LONDON — A senior British army commander said Thursday his troops were unwilling to help the Iraqi army in air strikes against militias in the city of Basra because they feared killing civilians.

The Iraqi army launched a major assault in Basra in March 2008 and complained bitterly at the time about Britain’s lack of support.

Britain said in the past that it held back to ensure that the operation was seen as Iraqi-led. But Lt. Gen. Barney White-Spunner — commander of coalition forces in southeast Iraq from February to August 2008 — told an inquiry probing Britain’s role in the war that the military’s rules of engagement stopped its troops from agreeing to Iraq’s early plans for an air attack.

“We were asked at times in those very chaotic early days to do some things by the Iraqis which, if we had agreed to, I would be sitting in front of a very different tribunal now,” he said.

He added: “We were invited to drop aerial ordnance on areas which we considered not to have been thoroughly enough vetted, and which could have caused considerable civilian casualties.”

The Iraq inquiry is investigating the decisions and mistakes surrounding the war. Deeply unpopular in Britain, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion left 179 British soldiers dead, triggered massive public protests, and shadowed the final years of Tony Blair’s premiership.

In Basra and other parts of Iraq’s south, Shiite militias took control of wide areas of territory during Britain’s stewardship. They held sway until Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered Iraqi soldiers and police to regain control of Basra. U.S. aircraft and ground troops later provided support for the operation.

White-Spunner said the American military’s rules of engagement were “slightly easier,” allowing U.S. forces to be more involved in the operation.

He added that the fact that the operation was Iraqi-led did reduce the support for the Shia militias.

“Basra’s Shia militias “crumpled extremely quickly. A certain number of militias and militia leaders were killed. A fair number went back to Iran, and a lot of the rank and file just melted back,” he said.

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad would not comment on whether the U.S. had different rules of engagement than Britain’s.

Lt. Todd Spitler said: “We obviously wouldn’t discuss rules of engagement. We would say that we appreciate the U.K.’s demonstrated support for the coalition and the Iraqi people.”

—

Associated Press Writer Katharine Houreld in Baghdad contributed to this story.