"I hate Iraq. I wish we had never gone to the place," said Winston Churchill in 1926 when, as chancellor of the exchequer, he had to pay the cost of holding on to the violently rebellious territory. The British government, and much of the public, no doubt feels the same about today's military venture in Iraq, which has cost around £5 billion ($10 billion) and the lives of more than 170 soldiers since 2003. Having entered the country uninvited, the army is leaving unlamented. The handover ceremony in the departure lounge of Basra airport (Britain's last base) on December 16th, when Basra province was transferred to Iraqi security control, summed it up: the British are no longer safe in the city, and have booked their tickets out of the country.
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