, The commander of British forces in southern Iraq said on Dec. 27 British troops had suffered a generation of under-funding and neglect, joining growing criticism of the conditions they face.
Major-General Richard Shirreff said Britain needed to support its soldiers in southern Iraq.
“The nation needs to understand that the quality work done by these courageous men and women out here only happens and can only continue if … our soldiers are properly supported back home in terms of the support for training, infrastructure, barracks, accommodation,” he said in a BBC interview from Basra.
“Frankly some of these issues need solving. This is the result, in many of these issues, of a generation of under-funding and relative neglect in political terms,” he said, adding that he did not blame any political party or government.
Shirreff, who is due to end his posting in Iraq in January, is the latest senior military figure to criticize British strategy in Iraq or to complain of inadequate resources.
Army chiefs have warned that British forces are fully stretched, with 7,200 based in southern Iraq and nearly 6,000 fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Britain
