The British occupation forces (BOF) today formally left Iraq, six years after they joined the Israeli-inspired and US-led invasion of the country. (UK seeks deals amid Iraq pullout)
In those six years, the BOF lost 179 soldiers. They had invaded a country that posed no threat to Britain. They went to Iraq to kill Iraqis and to ensure that Israel remains militarily predominant in the Middle East. They died thousands of miles away from their country, defending no British interest worthy of mention.
At the same time, over one million Iraqis have been killed. (More than 1,000,000 Iraqis murdered)
However, judging by BBC radio and television coverage of the withdrawal, and the repeated mention of the 179 dead, one would think that the British army had saved Britain from an existential threat, that it had fought a mighty enemy and emerged victorious. Nothing is said, of course, about the fact that it had invaded a sovereign country with a demoralized army that was equipped with dilapidated, Soviet-built 1970s- and 1980s-vintage weapons.
There is nothing heroic about what the British armed forces have done in Iraq. They invaded on the basis of a lie, achieved nothing and left the place in a mess. History will judge them, and those who set them off on the invasion, harshly.
I say to the British armed forces: good riddance! I look forward to their American masters leaving, also in ignominy.
