Give That Man A Medal!

So, according to a report today in The Washington Post, British troops abandoned a second base in southern Iraq due to increased mortar shelling from insurgents. And while local Iraqi troops were supposed to take over security, things didn't go exactly as planned:

Armed looters ransacked an abandoned British base in southern Iraq on Friday as Iraqi soldiers guarding the camp stood by and watched, heightening concerns that Iraqi troops are still ill-equipped to take control of security from U.S.-led coalition forces.

A crowd of as many as 5,000 people, including hundreds armed with AK-47 assault rifles, attacked Camp Abu Naji and hauled away window and door frames, corrugated roofing and metal pipes, despite the presence of a 450-member Iraqi army brigade meant to guard the base.

"The looters stole everything -- even the bricks," said Ahmed Mohammed Abdul Latief, 20, a student at Maysan University. "They almost leveled the whole base to the ground."

Distressing stuff, no? Yet, according to Post reporter Amit Paley, one intrepid spokesman for the British Army rose to the challenge:

Maj. Charlie Burbridge, a British military spokesman, said the Iraqi army maintained full control of the camp, even during the looting, and had managed to eject the thieves by early evening. "Our confidence in the Iraqi security forces to maintain day-to-day order in Amarah remains unaffected," he said.

Translation? Fuck you, Post reporter. So what if they leveled the place? Everything's going hunky-dorey.

Wonderful. Whatever they're paying Major Burbridge, it's not enough.