Iraq: The Legacy

Iraq: The Legacy

Oborne begins his investigation into our legacy in Iraq when he accompanies Foreign Secretary David Miliband on his first visit to Iraq at the end of last year. Together they witness the handover ceremony at Basra airport, as British forces pass provincial control to the local Iraqis. Whilst David Miliband claimed this was a significant step and a benchmark of success, Oborne investigates whether British forces have effectively been driven out by Shi'ite militias, in thrall to Iran. He also examines the future for the Iraqis in the area who worked for the British army and investigates whether Government promises to protect them have been honoured.

At the start of October, responsibility for the Awakening programme, under which around 100,000 Sunni militiamen are paid to keep the peace in their localities, passed from the Americans to the Iraqi government. It has been credited with dramatically reducing the levels of violence in Iraq, and the next step is for the militiamen to be integrated into the Iraqi army and police. But Oborne investigates whether this is happening fast enough to stop the Sunnis returning to violence.

In Sadr City, fissures are now also appearing within the governing Shia community. Oborne goes on patrol with US troops as they accompany an Iraqi Army unit, operating along another potentially catastrophic fault line in Iraq.

On the streets earlier in the year, he encounters a transformed Baghdad, following 'the surge' by American forces which flooded difficult neighbourhoods to oust insurgents. Greater security it created was supposed to allow significant political progress. Now the extra troops have been withdrawn and Oborne investigates whether the tactic has worked. The signs are not encouraging.

The Oil Law, which governs foreign investment and the division of Iraqi oil revenues within the country, is stalled in parliament. Oborne argues that this reflects the failure to reach any permanent solution with the Kurds about the status of Kurdistan - a third potential recipe for civil war in Iraq.

And there's big opposition to the government's proposed deal with the Americans which sets out the rules for how they operate and when they are to leave. The Parliament is voting on it this week and Oborne examines the fallout from the result. Technically American troops will become illegal if it is not approved.

As British and American forces prepare their final exit from Iraq, this edition of Dispatches analyses the legacy of the invasion. And as many of the same tactics are about to be transferred to Afghanistan, are we about to make the same mistakes again?