Now, I think, we can see the real reason why the Bush administration is trying to hand over as much of Iraq as possible to the British. As this BBC article clearly highlights, the British know how to win the peace. The Americans simply don't.
This still leaves the question of whether the situation's salvagable. I think the most telling quote is about three-quarters of the way through the article:
[Brigadier Andrew Kennet] told me "I did not raze Basra to the ground, but I could have done."
This is why the British have succeeded in carving out an island of stability in Basra, while the Americans are forced to stay in the heavily-fortified (and no longer entirely safe) green zone, and deploy heavily armored combat vehicles whenever they want to go somewhere. I'm sure I don't need to remind people here of the American reaction in Fallujah and Samarra and Sadr City and so many other places, but its something that we must keep in mind. The American reaction was to use warplanes and snipers and tanks, tactics that were sure to cause as much destruction as possible. The end result? The only way we'll ever "pacify" Fallujah is by killing every man, woman, and child in the city. (And Bush plans to do just this on November 3rd, mark my words)
The British, in contrast, seem to have used pinpoint strikes to eliminate exactly the people causing the problem... And left the others alone. Even those that don't toe the line, even those that protest the Iraqi regime. If they'd killed them too, there's no way the good Brigadier would have people coming up to him and saying:
And [Brigadier Andrew Kennet] says he received a delegation of local people thanking him for targeting the insurgents and not punishing the whole population.
I think this is why Bush is trying to move the British into trouble spots and move the Americans into the areas they've already pacified. I don't think its going to work. Not only will Bush no doubt launch a no-holds-barred attack on Fallujah the instant he thinks he doesn't have to answer to the public, American troops and officers will continue to do just what they've been doing. Driving Humvees around like maniacs, brandishing assault rifles at peaceful protestors, and using airstrikes that damage entire neighbourhoods to take out "insurgents" and try to cut down on American casualties.
Of course, maybe if we hadn't tried to turn Iraq into an Ayn Rand-esque utopia, maybe most of the population would still be employed, instead of so desperate for money that they'll take a couple hundred dollars from an insurgent to fire an RPG at American troops. Looks like absolutely free markets don't work out that well after all, do they?