Click photo to play
Length: 3:45
ANDERSON COOPER: Well, as
Christiane said, Tony Blair's next job is already
lined up. State Department officials and diplomats
said today he'll become a special envoy for the
Mid-East Quartet, working on economic and political
reform for Palestinians.
Iraq, of course, is going to continue to be a problem
for the region. And that's where we turn now.
Tony Blair was the only major ally the U.S. had in
Iraq. So what now?
CNN's Michael Ware joins me from Baghdad.
Michael, how important a role are British troops
playing in Iraq?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, politically,
they were the major ally, they were the face of what
was supposed to be the international mandate
supporting the U.S. mission here in Iraq. And in
those political terms, I mean, the international
community, the international public, their mandate
for this U.S. war hangs by a thread anyway. So the
loss of that major British presence will have a
political impact.
Militarily, the British troops have had to take
control of southern Iraq. Well, from the beginning,
that was mission impossible, Anderson. They were
never going to be any more than a holding action.
And indeed, we've seen in the southern capital of
Basra, the oil rich port city, British forces have
all but been driven from that city by militia forces
in Iranian-backed political factions. Indeed, we saw
the International Crisis Group describe their recent
withdrawal as ignominious defeat in the eyes of the
militias.
So militarily, it really doesn't help make America's
impossible mission any that much more possible
anyway.
COOPER: Let's talk about America's mission. The White
House emphasized today U.S. forces taking part in the
so-called surge have only recently arrived and that
they say it's too early for any judgments.
And we've seen in the last couple weeks the White
House and their emissaries backing -- or backtracking
from that September evaluation date.
On the ground, the troops you talk with, the
commanders you travel with, do they think the
strategy is working so far?
WARE: Well, in their words, and in all honesty, it is
too early to tell. I mean, however the White House
has been trying to sell this to the American people,
here on the ground it's been nothing but pragmatism.
From the commander of this war, U.S. General David
Petraeus, down to field commanders, they've all said
this is going to take time.
This surge is not a miracle solution. It was merely
meant to be a wedge against the backslide into
violence and into political factionalism that we've
been seeing.
Now, will it be that wedge against that backslide? In
most -- in all reality, probably not. It's just
stemming what's already a rolling tide.
And let's be aware, while America is surging with its
30,000 troops, Iranian-backed forces are surging in
their violence and al Qaeda is surging in its
violence. Both of these parties, all of these
players, are looking to skew the figures that will be
used in September to judge the surge -- Anderson.
COOPER: And in terms of sectarian killings, do those
continue to rise?
WARE: Oh, absolutely. We've had hundreds and hundreds
die this month alone. And that's purely in terms of
tortured and executed bodies found on the streets of
Iraq. That does not include those dying in even more
hundreds as a result of car bombings, as a result of
al Qaeda attacks, as a result of other kinds of
sectarian violence. So no, it's not getting any
better -- Anderson.
COOPER: Michael Ware, bleak words to end on. But
Michael, thank you.