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British Forces are
serving in Iraq as part of the Coalition Force authorised under United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1546. This mandate will expire
upon the completion of the political process or if requested by the
Government of Iraq.
The UK Government has stated that it is committed to Iraq for as long
as the Iraqi Government judge that the coalition is required to
provide security and assist in the development of the Iraqi Security
Forces. UK military forces are mainly located around the area of
Basra in Southern Iraq and military operations are conducted under
the Codename of Operation Telic.
At the beginning of 2009 the UK had approximately 4,100 troops in Iraq
and it is expected that the majority will have been withdrawn by mid
2009, leaving behind a core force of about 400 personnel who will
continue to train Iraqi Forces.
The majority of United Kingdom troops deployed to Iraq spend six
months in the theatre of operations and are in units commanded by the
Multinational Division (South-East).
In July 2008 the UK Prime Minister described the remaining tasks for
UK Forces as follows:
-
Training and support for the 14th
Division of the Iraqi Army in Basra
-
Preparing Basra Airport for transfer to
Iraqi control
-
Pushing forward economic development
-
Providing the necessary support for
provincial elections
Since early 2003 UK
force levels in Iraq have been as follows:
Peak during Major Combat Operations (March/April 2003): 46,000
At the end of May 2003: 18,000
At the end of May 2004: 8,600
At the end of May 2005: 8,500
At the end of May 2006: 7,200
At the end of May 2007: 7,000
At the end of January 2009: 4,100
The US force total at the beginning of 2009 was in the region of
approximately 144,000 personnel.
Other major contingents (over 100 personnel) were:
| COUNTRY |
TOTAL TROOPS |
| South Korea |
600 |
| Romania |
500 |
| Australia |
300 |
| El Salvador |
200 |
| Albania |
240 |
| Bulgaria |
155 |
MULTINATIONAL DIVISION (SOUTH EAST) MND(SE)
The Headquarters of the MND(SE) was located at Basra Air Base in
Southern Iraq. This was a composite multinational headquarters with
the majority of the personnel and infrastructure being provided by
the UK. In March 2009 command of the MND (SE) was handed over to an
US General and the formation renamed as Multinational Division
South.
COSTS - IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
The UK MoD figures set out below identify the costs of operations in
terms of the net additional costs they have incurred. The costs that
the department would have incurred regardless of the operation
taking place, such as wages and salaries, are not included.
Savings on activities that have not occurred because of the
operation; training exercises, for example, are taken into account
in arriving at the net figures. All of these costs are met, by
convention, from the UK Treasury's reserves.
Costs - Iraq
2002-03 - £874 million
2003-04 - £1,311 million
2004-05 - £910 million
2005-06 - £958 million
2006-07 - £956 million
2007-08 - £1,457 million
This gives a grand total of £6,439 million spent on the commitment
in Iraq at the end of FY 2007-08.
The estimate for the costs of operations in Iraq during 2008-09 is
£1,379 million.
Costs – Afghanistan
2001-02 - £221 million
2002-03 - £311 million
2003-04 - £46 million
2004-05 - £67 million
2005-06 - £199 million
2006-07 - £738 million
2007-08 - £1,504 million
Total expenditure on the Afghan commitment was £3,086 million at the
end of FY 2007-08.
The estimate for the costs of operations in Afghanistan during
2008-09 is £2,318 million.
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