Undercover british commandos dressed as locals caugt red handed.

[theknife]

this incident underscores the largely unreported problem of iraqi security forces, ostensibly working wih the US but who are actually insurgents who have infiltrated the US-led training program:

The Iraqi government has launched an inquiry into events surrounding the arrest of the British soldiers on Monday, both thought to be members of the SAS elite special forces.

Iraq’s interior ministry ordered the police force in the southern city of Basra to release the soldiers - but that order was ignored.

The British Army confirmed the troops had been handed over by police to a Shia militia group.

Mr Rubaie told Newsnight: “Our Iraqi security forces in general, and these in particular and in many parts of Iraq, I have to admit that they have been penetrated by some of the insurgents, some of the terrorists as well, so I can’t deny this.”

He said Iraq now had “a very scrupulous, very meticulous vetting procedure” to “clean our security forces, as well as stop any penetration in future from the insurgents or the terrorists”.

He admitted he did not know to what extent the security forces were already infiltrated by insurgents.

there is a rumor floating around, which apparently the army will neither conform or deny, that this incident, in which two three-man US sniper teams were ambushed, were in fact set up and killed by the iraqi security forces they were working with.

all of this indicates US forces can not trust anyone amongst the grateful people they have liberated. yet another reason to pack it up, come home, and let the iraqis sort it out for themselves. the guardian editorial response puts it well:

America left Vietnam and Lebanon to their fate. They survived. We left Aden and other colonies. Some, such as Malaya and Cyprus, saw bloodshed and partition. We said rightly that this was their business. So too is Iraq for the Iraqis. We have made enough mess there already.