Was the UK mission in Iraq a success?

[RSS News]

British combat operations in Iraq have come to an end a month early. Has the mission been successful?

(Feed provided by BBC News | Have your Say (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/talking_point/default.stm))

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

Succesful in what?
In killing innocent civilians, burning cities down, capturing and plundering a nation for the greed of oil oligarchs?
Yes.
Succesful in bringin peace, freedom and democracy?
No.

[Pawn Power]

Succesful in what?
In killing innocent civilians, burning cities down, capturing and plundering a nation for the greed of oil oligarchs?
Yes.
Succesful in bringin peace, freedom and democracy?
No.

Seriously, I don't think anyone here would argue otherwise.

Can't newsbot post this stuff in OI? Maybe a mod can move it because it doesn't really prompt any good discussion on a forum where all members are against imperialist wars.

[Pogue]

Why don't you guys just stop reacting so seriously to a fucking robot.

[STJ]

Not unless your agree with killing innocent civilians all in the name of America so we can steal there oil.

[la lucha sigue]

does anyone actually believe that the British combat operations are actually over in Iraq?

[Killfacer]

Fuck off cyborg!

[STJ]

does anyone actually believe that the British combat operations are actually over in Iraq?
I dont.

[mykittyhasaboner]

I don't think the newsbot is a robot. He/she's gotta be a troll.

[piet11111]

actually newsbot is exactly what its name suggests.

its a bot intended to post news topics that would be of interest to us in the politics forum.

[The Idler]

Most contracts have gone to companies of the United States so no it has not been a success.

[STJ]

I don't think the newsbot is a robot. He/she's gotta be a troll.
We need to ban this troll!!!

[Bitter Ashes]

Depends on what you classify as success tbh.

The British armed forces' commanders were given at least the following objectives of the invasion of Iraq:

- Remove Sadam Hussein from power. No debates there. He's not in power.
- Allow access to UN weapons inspectors about searching for WMDs. Well, the inspectors got thier access I suppose.

So, did they set out to do what they intended to do with this stuff? Yes they did. It's possible that there may have been other "goals" that were not publicly announced too, like to take some examples from the thread of allowing Iraq's oil supplies to flow to the West, or causing suffiencent damage to the infrastructure of the country that foreign contractors would be needed to repair the damage, for a price, again to get the oil flowing. I'd argue that they suceeded in that plan too.

Was the war profitable though? I doubt it. The United States has the most contractors in Iraq, so are recieving more oil paid to them in return for those services. Compare that to a 6 year occupation on another continent, where the country isnt actualy capable of sustaining another 100,000 personel from the UK and the cost rockets. Also, for public image, it was a nightmare. It's probably half the reason that Tony Blair stepped down as PM. Personaly, I dont believe all of the conspiricy theories, but the fact that they are commonly believed is proof enough that the British goverment failed to come out of this smelling of roses.

So, overall, I'd say that they're not much better or worse off for the war in Iraq. Afghanistan though is a disaster as yet they havent actualy succeeded in ANY of thier objectives.

[Pawn Power]

Why don't you guys just stop reacting so seriously to a fucking robot.

That's the whole point.

[STJ]

I dont think your troops are going to leave Iraq.

[Pawn Power]

edit. memory loss.

[Bitter Ashes]

Not as long there is a US controlled embassy the size of Vatican City which needs defending.
The British Army is not deployed anywhere near Baghdad and certainly not in the Green Zone. PMCs probably are, but they're a whole new kettle of fish. Sorry. I'm picky about these sorts of things. :blushing:
Anyway, the official line is that the armed force prescence in Iraq is bieng scaled down to 40 by the 31st of this month.

[PeaderO'Donnell]

I'm picky about these sorts of things. :blushing:


Hired killers of Imperialism are hired killers of Imperialism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8w7w724_oE&feature=channel_page

http://megavideo.com/?v=RXRB381M

[MilitantAnarchist]

All of the war is shit. I think its discusting the our country didnt revolt, how can the British and American working class, let our ruling class bastards, kill other working class people! all for oil... Fuck that, i denounce my nationality.

FIGHT WAR, NOT WARS

[Pawn Power]

The British Army is not deployed anywhere near Baghdad and certainly not in the Green Zone. PMCs probably are, but they're a whole new kettle of fish. Sorry. I'm picky about these sorts of things. :blushing:
Anyway, the official line is that the armed force prescence in Iraq is bieng scaled down to 40 by the 31st of this month.

oops, I meant US troops- forgot this thread was specifically about the Brits.

[Bitter Ashes]

All of the war is shit. I think its discusting the our country didnt revolt, how can the British and American working class, let our ruling class bastards, kill other working class people! all for oil... Fuck that, i denounce my nationality.

FIGHT WAR, NOT WARS
Wasn't Sadam also the ruling class who was killing the working class on a whim even less than oil? It could be argued by your resoning that the British working class shouldnt have sat back and allowed Sadam to kill the kurds too. And now we're placed between Cylla and Caribdi. Is it right to overthrow one tyrant to replace them with another? Of course not. But is it right to leave a tyrant unopposed? Well, no that's not right either.

Yet another case of how the working class should have acted unifed and independantly, rather than relying on Blair and Bush to effectictly draft working class in to fix it for them.

[STJ]

All of the war is shit. I think its discusting the our country didnt revolt, how can the British and American working class, let our ruling class bastards, kill other working class people! all for oil... Fuck that, i denounce my nationality.

FIGHT WAR, NOT WARS
Because they bought into the media hype.

[Bitter Ashes]

oops, I meant US troops- forgot this thread was specifically about the Brits.
Ah. Makes sense now ^^
The Green Zone's an intresting place apparantly. They even have American fast food chains operating in there. It's very reminisant of the Norman motte and bailey arrangement.

[brigadista]

dec 07 uk army surrendered control of basra..... mahdi army was in control

http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=1441

[brigadista]

Wasn't Sadam also the ruling class who was killing the working class on a whim even less than oil? It could be argued by your resoning that the British working class shouldnt have sat back and allowed Sadam to kill the kurds too. And now we're placed between Cylla and Caribdi. Is it right to overthrow one tyrant to replace them with another? Of course not. But is it right to leave a tyrant unopposed? Well, no that's not right either.

Yet another case of how the working class should have acted unifed and independantly, rather than relying on Blair and Bush to effectictly draft working class in to fix it for them.


a myth - us and uk were bombing iraqi citizens during the saddam regime in additons to imposing santions in the no fly zone - in northern iraq the home of many kurds...

http://www.globalissues.org/article/107/iraq-was-being-bombed-during-12-years-of-sanctions

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

I think the best way to describe my stance on peace and war is the following quote I picked up somewhere:

NO WAR BETWEEN NATIONS! NO PEACE BETWEEN CLASSES!

[Bitter Ashes]

a myth - us and uk were bombing iraqi citizens during the saddam regime in additons to imposing santions in the no fly zone - in northern iraq the home of many kurds...

http://www.globalissues.org/article/107/iraq-was-being-bombed-during-12-years-of-sanctions
I'll put my hands up and admit that I was not aware of this before you mentioned it just now. While I'm sure it just emphasises that the US and UK goverments are prepared to kill Iaqi working class too, it doesnt excuse Sadam of doing the same. Two wrongs do not make a right.

[NecroCommie]

Ultimately the presence of Saddam was fault of the western powers. Saddams crimes are the "coalitions" crimes, and the other way around. Saddam was just an imperialism's pet dog that got loose. It does not matter whether it was WoMD or oil, for the ultimate force behind all the horrors of this war is imperialism.

[brigadista]

I'll put my hands up and admit that I was not aware of this before you mentioned it just now. While I'm sure it just emphasises that the US and UK goverments are prepared to kill Iaqi working class too, it doesnt excuse Sadam of doing the same. Two wrongs do not make a right.

I am not saying they do but remember saddam was the noriega of iraq - the west's dictator who went rogue...