BBC visits US and UK military base in Iraq as ceasefire continues
The BBC has been given access to a military base in Iraq where British forces have been working alongside their US counterparts during conflicts in the region.
The United States declared an extended but fragile ceasefire on the US-Israeli war in Iran; but before the ceasefire, up to 28 drones were being fired at the base every day.
“You hear explosive weapons going off around you and it’s very difficult,” an RAF air expert at the base told the BBC’s defense correspondent Jonathan Beale.
British and US forces were working side by side at this military base in the fight against the Islamic State group long before the war with Iran began.
Sharp differences over war with Iran have certainly strained transatlantic relations. But on this basis the two are still joined at the hip.
Minister of the Armed Forces Al Carns said the close cooperation between the two militaries was “a message that must be amplified”. Since the conflict began, “we helped keep the Americans out of danger; we helped protect them, and they helped protect us,” Carns said, but stressed that British forces were in a “defensive posture.”
Air Chief Marshal Sir Harvey Smyth said he had met with the US commander at the base, who “enthusiastically praised” the UK forces. “I think our relationship is as strong as ever, and this operation has brought us even closer,” he said.
But this was certainly not reflected in the language between Washington and Westminster.
