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Ministry of Defence

The hon. Gentleman is correct about the timing and I am happy to say that what I saw on the ground confirmed my previous assessment. An isolated visit to British troops in heavily restricted conditions in Basra should not take one’s eyes off the wider strategic position of taking in all the information from the whole country of Iraq. He saw what I saw on that visit, as we travelled round Basra in the back of armoured vehicles. That was when the situation in Basra was relatively benign, before the threat of improvised explosive devices had become as bad as it is today. I suggest that my article might bear his re-examination.