In coming days the British are to hand over their responsibilities in southern Iraq to the local army and police

In coming days the British are to hand over their responsibilities in southern Iraq to the local army and police. The intention is to cut the 4,500 British troops to 2,500 by next March, and presumably withdraw those soon afterward on the grounds that so small a force is in no position to do anything useful.

American personnel will have to replace them, and make sure that their own supply lines are protected. The Shiite militia in Basra city and province are a murderous lot, true enough, but they have been much encouraged by the British refusal to take them head-on. Dismayed, the Iraqi general commanding the Basra police explains that he faces hardships because his weaponry is "insufficient to maintain full control." Expect bloodshed, then. Internal British politics are determining this outcome. According to public perception, the invasion of Iraq brought down Tony Blair. Gordon Brown, his successor as prime minister, and more a long-term rival than a colleague, hopes to gain credit by reversing the Blair legacy. Visiting the troops in Basra to tell them about the end of their combat role, he made a speech stressing the virtue of courage and citing Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Montgomery. That's the language especially dear to someone running up the white flag.

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