The Iraqis say goodbye to the British, with a bullet.

The Iraqis are so happy the British are leaving, they gave them an explosive sendoff.

An Iraqi security source said Thursday that two British military bases in Basra, which has a predominantly Shiite population, had been bombarded with rocket-propelled grenades in the past 24 hours.

Of course, understand that this is not unusual,

But the 7,200-strong British contingent has nevertheless clashed with political and tribal militias. Its bases still come under almost daily mortar and rocket fire and more than 130 soldiers have died in four years.

I guess that's what Tony Blair meant when he said,

“What all this means is not that Basra is how we want it to be,” Mr. Blair said, “but it does mean that the next chapter in Basra’s history can be written by Iraqis.”

(I feel the need to add that despite the coverage, the British aren't really pulling out. They're really just pulling back.)