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We visited Iraq and the Northern Arabian Gulf in June 2008, as part of our regular programme of scrutiny of the UK's major overseas operational deployments. It was a year since our last visit. In Basra, we found the security situation transformed. In 2007, there had been multiple and daily attacks on UK Forces in the Contingency Operating Base (COB), and we had been unable to venture outside the perimeter. We were told that UK Forces could only venture into the centre of Basra in strength and with considerable force protection. Those training and mentoring Iraqi Army units could not accompany those units on operations, which was hindering this work.
This year there had been an obvious and substantial improvement in security. UK Forces can now move freely in the city of Basra, and the Military Transition Teams which are assisting the Iraqi Army are now embedded with their units. We saw that this process is going well, and has already contributed enormously to the capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces. It seems clear to us that this is largely the result of the success of Operation Charge of the Knights, the Iraqi-led effort to break the control of the militias in Basra and restore law and order. The operation continues, but its effects are already profound and positive. We are concerned that the wider public does not see the very positive developments which we undoubtedly saw in Iraq. That is why we decided to publish this Report.
The training and development of the Iraqi Security Forces is now the most important task facing UK Forces in southern Iraq. We were enormously impressed with what we saw in Basra and at the Naval Training Team at Umm Qasr. It is however obvious that these are long-term projects. The MoD will have to consider how it adjusts its current military footprint in Iraq to accommodate a continuing and vital, if smaller, presence in both these places. The larger the military training commitment we can maintain, the greater will be UK influence in Iraq, and in the region as a whole, as Iraq recovers its position as a wealthy and powerful Middle East nation. The UK has an opportunity to maintain a substantial position of influence for the common good in southern Iraq, if we can commit the military capacity to do so.
We also visited Royal Navy units in the Arabian Gulf and saw the crucial task they have in defending Iraq's oil infrastructure there. Oil is the key to the future prosperity of Iraq, and helping the Iraqis ensure stability and security in the Gulf is a vital role for the Coalition. We pay tribute to the work that UK Service personnel are doing and recognise the often difficult, sometimes dangerous and always delicate nature of operations in that area.
Economic development will be the cornerstone of Iraq's prosperity and security. Iraq is not inherently a poor country, and the UK Government has the opportunity to help Iraq realise and reap the benefits of its potential wealth.
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