Britain says Iraq violence levels not anticipated
Source: Reuters
By Y.P. Rajesh NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies had not expected the soaring level of violence and sectarian killings in Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said on Friday. Beckett, who began a week-long visit to India on Thursday, said the security situation in Iraq was very grave and said American and British troops were making strong efforts to control violence in Baghdad and the Basra region. Her comments came amid growing public pressure in the United States and Britain to bring troops back from Iraq, and a strong prospect that President George W. Bush's Republicans will lose control of Congress in Nov. 7 polls over his Iraq policy. "There is no distinction, no question that the security situation is a very grave one and that there is a level of violence and indeed of killings which is quite appalling," Beckett told a business conference in the Indian capital. Three-and-a-half years after the U.S.-led invasion that resulted in the ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, there has been a spike in casualties among U.S. and British forces. Spiralling sectarian violence and insurgent attacks are also killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians every week. The Iraqi Interior Ministry said more than 40 civilians died each day last month as a result of the political violence amid fears that the country was descending into civil war and chaos. Beckett said there were various arguments over whether the post-conflict scenario in Iraq had been anticipated correctly. "But I don't think anyone would have foreseen the explosion of what seemed to be long-buried sectarian hatred that we have seen in Iraq," she said. "It's truly an appalling set of circumstances that there are so many people who are interested to continue destruction and who wish to destroy and undermine any improvement people seek to make in the lives of the people of Iraq," she said. U.S. troops in Baghdad and British forces in southern Iraq were making a "concerted push" to try and tackle the security threats in the region, Beckett added. Britain has 7,200 troops in southern Iraq, mostly stationed in and around Basra. But the city remains dangerous with Shi'ite factions battling each other for control and British troops occasionally caught in the middle. Earlier this week, Britain moved most civilian staff from its consulate in Basra to the airport due to the rising threat of mortar and rocket attacks. But it said its commitment to Iraq remained firm and British troops would stay in the country until the job was done. Britain's Iraq policy has eroded Prime Minister Tony Blair's authority, divided his Labour Party and the country.
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