Nur al-Cubicle

A blog on the current crises in the Middle East and news accounts unpublished by the US press. Daily timeline of events in Iraq as collected from stories and dispatches in the French and Italian media: Le Monde (Paris), Il Corriere della Sera (Milan), La Repubblica (Rome), L'Orient-Le Jour (Beirut) and occasionally from El Mundo (Madrid).

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Blair orders partial pullout from Iraq

Update: Juan Cole says it's not the PR, it's a rout:
his is a rout, there should be no mistake. The fractious Shiite militias and tribes of Iraq's South have made it impossible for the British to stay. They already left Sadr-controlled Maysan province, as well as sleepy Muthanna. They moved the British consulate to the airport because they couldn't protect it in Basra. They are taking mortar and rocket fire at their bases every night. Raiding militia HQs has not resulted in any permanent change in the situation. Basra is dominated by 4 paramilitaries, who are fighting turf wars with one another and with the Iraqi government over oil smuggling rights.


This has PR written all over it, from the Public to the Relations.

Dauphin Gordon Brown has just polled the lowest favorable opinion of a Labour leader in 25 years. Moreover, Labour is expected to do exceedingly poorly in the upcoming May local elections, especially in Scotland. Tony Blair thinks pulling out 1,500 troops will mitigate the damage. Too little, too late.

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1 Comments:

Blogger ziz said...

The Conservative have been eliminated in Scotland with precious litle chance of any recovery. Labour will be reduced to a rump, whatever the Dear Leader does.

Labour in Scotland is now embraced by the citizens with the same enthusiasm as damn Yanquis in Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia ....

Brown's only serious contenders, are "Dr" John Reid another bloody Scotsman and the man with the tan from the can Peter Hain who is as popular outside Parliament (and to a lareg extent within) as syphilis in a nunnery.

Coming up on the inside however is the youthful (and intensely ambitious) Hazel Blears, tap dancer and (lest anyone forget) New Labour Party Char Woman - whose votes are critical to Gordie.

1:45 PM  

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