Two British servicemen, dressed in civilian clothes, were held at Basra's main police station after the incident. Outside, rioting began as the city threatened to descend into anarchy.A couple of comments here. First, if the local police arrested undercover British agents, for whatever reason, you don't just smash the jail to get them out. If we don't respect the local police force, how can we expect the Iraqis to do so? I'm sure there were other, better ways to get them back.
Last night, British forces used up to 10 tanks - supported by helicopters - to smash through the walls of the jail and free the two British servicemen. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, later confirmed they were back with UK forces.
Around 150 prisoners were said to have escaped during the assault, which was condemned as "barbaric, savage and irresponsible" by Mohammed al-Waili, the provincial governor. But the Ministry of Defence disputed the claim, saying that the release of the soldiers had been "negotiated".
Second, how moronic is it to let 150 prisoners (among whom might be members of terrorist cells that will hit us in the future, or members of the ongoing resistance in Iraq,) run away just to show some muscle while you free two of your agents?!
Third, not only have they smeared the police reputation, now they've also destroyed their headquarters and a good number of their jail cells. How long is it gonna be before they can detain people there again and, especially, before the Iraqis will respect (or fear) them again?
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