London, Jan 6(ANI): Sir William Patey, Britain's Ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2006, has said that there was a "disconnect" between then Prime Minister Tony Blair's demands and the situation faced by their forces fighting in Basra and the south of the country.
"The politics here demanded instant results. It was the first time I have ever had instructions as an ambassador directly from the Prime Minister ... help get a constitution that the Iraqis would vote positively for, the formation of a new government, create the conditions for the withdrawal of British troops. It was quite simple," The Times quoted Patey, as saying.
"They were quite reasonable instructions, provided you realized that they weren't in my gift or solely in the gift of the British Government. There was a tension between the desire for instant results and the realities on the ground. What you could achieve in the sort of timescales that London needed for political reasons - there was a disconnect," he added.
Patey, who is now Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, further said that British military commanders also faced political pressure to "get quick fixes".
"I don't think the tensions ever reached breaking point. I understood the frustration. I was quite frank back about the level of ambition and achievement. There was a healthy balance - them pushing for us to achieve more and us explaining the reality," Patey said.
"There was a sense, obviously, if we were able to reduce our presence in Iraq there would be headroom to reinforce our forces in Afghanistan," he added. (ANI)
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