I agree with Jay and Mark that Britishness seems to have fled Britain. As of today, it’s fled Basra, as well. Well, I guess “fled” isn’t quite fair: Here’s a constable from Wales who’s returning to Britain on Obama Day with lots of useful experience in just what Britain needs: “inter-faith matters.”
Mr Cooper, 49, who is married with a family in Cardiff, said policing Basra had similarities to his work in South Wales. “Obviously the environment is different – the security issues – but when you get down to the actual needs of the community, they’re exactly the same,” he said. “Basically what they will say is they want to feel safe, they want electricity, they want water, they want security for their family.
“And really when we break it down, in the UK that’s exactly what people want – they want a quality service from the police, and they want to be able to trust the police.”
Not to mention electricity and water (useful for fighting fires, of course — not that your typical British constable would know much about that).
Looks like there’s still work to be done there that the Americans will have to do, but as the Union Jack is lowered for the last time in Basra, it’s probably safe to say water and electricity and many interesting inter-faith matters important to British cops are closer to being managed than if Obama’s original withdrawal timetable had been observed.