The myth of a handover to Iraqi forces

Remember that base that the British successfully handed over to a now fully capable Iraqi army unit? Remember, the "success" of the British handover of the province of Muthanna?

The first British camp to be handed to the Iraqis was looted almost bare within days of the army's departure.

The transfer last month was widely heralded as a signal that Iraq would soon be ready to run itself.

A British soldier said that, as the last men drove away, they saw pick-up trucks being filled with equipment worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Most items that could be removed were taken, including air-conditioning units, water-filtration systems, chairs, bedding, and kitchen utensils. When the commander of British forces in southeast Iraq, Brigadier James Everard, discussed the matter with the province's governor, he was told that the camp had "largely gone."

Military sources believe off-duty Iraqi soldiers and government officials did much of the looting.....