The Great Escape. posted by Richard Seymour

The MoD's story changes as rapidly as that collection of great minds can manage. Initially, a Ministry of Defense spokesman asked about the storming of an Iraqi prison by UK tanks (apparently backed up by helicopters), said:

We have not had confirmation of the full details of this. We've heard nothing to suggest we stormed the prison. We understand there were negotiations.

This morning, the BBC reports:

MoD officials said the men were being handed over to the British when local militants intervened and attempted to snatch them.

Soldiers forming a cordon around the police station became involved, and a wall was demolished by a British tank as they struggled to "collect" the men, the MoD said.

What the fuck? Alright, never mind, forget it. You try and figure out how the intervention of 'local militants' made it necessary to smash the walls down.

At any rate, if there were negotiations, the officials in Basra seem to know nothing of it. The governor describes the jail-break as a "barbaric act". The Iraqi Interior Ministry's account also differs slightly from the British one: they say six tanks were used to break down the walls and 'rescue' the two men from the jail.

Pull back a second. The background to this story is, apparently, that a number of members of the Mahdi Army were arrested on Sunday and tossed in the hoosegow. Subsequently, al-Sadr's affiliates made a 'show of force' by blocking some roads, holding demonstrations and demanding the release of their confederates. And when - oh, hang on, BBC Breakfast has a statement from the British Army in Basra, and it appears they have changed their account yet again:

Brigadier John Lorimer says that the Iraqi authorities had failed to hand over the two prisoners despite their best efforts to achieve this and were instead going to hand them over to insurgents.

So, they did storm the bloody prison after all? Ah, the sweet smell of official lies.

Anyway, and when these two undercover servicemen, whom the Mirror are describing as 'SAS' this morning (oh, please), were then approached by Iraqi policemen because they looked suspicious, they shot the policemen and were then captured. Locals then attacked British tanks.

Now, what then happened doesn't sound like negotiation if you believe the Washington Post (and I'm not saying you should):

When British officials apparently sought to secure their release, riots erupted. Iraqi police cars circulated downtown, calling through loudspeakers for the public to help stop British forces from releasing the two. Heavy gunfire broke out and fighting raged for hours, as crowds swarmed British forces and set at least one armored vehicle on fire.

Witnesses said they saw Basra police exchanging fire with British forces. Sadr's Mahdi Army militia joined in the fighting late in the day, witnesses said. A British military spokesman, Darren Moss, denied that British troops were fighting Basra police.

Negotiations.

Now, what could 'undercover servicemen' (or 'SAS' if you prefer) have been up to in Basra, and why would their release be so important that the British Army would feel obliged to discipline its client regime there at great cost to its chances of a peaceful life? Partially, the answer given will be that the local government is now effectively owned by Shi'ite militias (the Badr Corps, the armed wing of SCIRI) as has been alleged before. The somewhat convivial relationship between the sectarian SCIRI and the occupiers in Basra is alleged to be breaking down. And the allegations are already emerging that Iran is behind it all. That would be Iran, working through the pro-occupation SCIRI and their Badr Corps, then? No, because the unrest is largely focused on the domestic Mahdi Army, whom the Iranian-trained and -funded Badr Corps have been fighting with.

Hang on - the vivacious Caroline Hawley is saying on the BBC that there is a Status of Forces 'agreement' between the Iraqi authorities and the occupiers that any arrested servicemen should be handed over to the occupiers. The British Army have apparently told her that the Iraqi Interior Ministry had directly ordered the release of the men - the same Iraqi Interior Ministry who won't even corroborate the British story? This can't be right. They also seem to have changed their story again - this time, they're saying that what actually happened was that the two prisoners had been spirited out of the police station by insurgents and were subsequently freed from another house nearby - I wonder if that house is still standing?

Anyway, the question remains as to exactly what the bugger these guys were doing in Iraq shooting at Iraqi policemen? It isn't a question being asked on the news much. They prefer to evoke Northern Ireland and disinter the old classics about how we must never never give in to the "men of violence" (BBC pron. vaaah-lince). They are preferring to demand of Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy that he rescind his preference for withdrawing troops from Iraq. As in "doesn't the failure of the occupation show that we can't leave just yet?" Oh yeah - imagine what would happen if we left. There'd be death squads, extra-judicial executions, sectarian violence, mass murder, torture and rape. That would be awful.