<img title="Image: http://www.myvivvo.com/thumbnail.php?file=art.check.afp.gi_806001748.jpg&amp;size=article_medium" src="http://www.myvivvo.com/thumbnail.php?file=art.check.afp.gi_806001748.jpg&amp;size=article_medium" alt="UK minister Basra is transformed city">
										
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								<span>Britain's defense secretary has declared that the once war-torn southern Iraqi city of Basra is now a "transformed city."<br><br>Des
 Browne, who made an unannounced visit to Basra on Thursday, comes two 
months after Iraq's government launched a recent offensive in the 
largely Shiite city against what they call criminal elements.<br><br>A 
British military news release said Browne "engaged with local residents"
 as he talk a stroll in a neighborhood. He saw "market stalls, craftsmen
 and shoppers" in what was a "previously hazardous area."<br><br>"As I 
walked through Basra's streets today, chatting to people, it was clear 
to everyone that Basra is a transformed city. I felt an enormous sense 
of pride in what the Iraqi forces have achieved with our help," Browne 
said, according to the news release.<br><br>"Mid-afternoon I sat in a 
Basra street cafe and had a cup of tea with General Mohammed Juwad 
Huwaidi, commander of the Iraqi forces in Basra. All around us were the 
signs of a city returning to normality -- shop keepers working away, 
women walking around wearing head scarves and children playing on their 
bikes."<br><br>Maj. Tom Holloway, the British military spokesman, told 
CNN on Friday that Browne discussed security plans with British 
commanders and met with local Iraqi military officials during the 
three-hour visit.<br><br>British troops had been based in Basra city 
since the Iraq war began in 2003. The country handed over security 
control to Iraqis late last year, but still maintains a presence in 
Basra province.<br><br>The defense ministry says there are 4,000 British
 troops in southern Iraq, and they are focused on training and mentoring
 and "carry out tasks in support of the coalition."<br><br>Iraqi Prime 
Minister Nuri al-Maliki in late March launched the offensive targeting 
an outlaw element that had been holding sway in city neighborhoods.<br><br>Many
 observers believe the fighting reflected the country's intra-Shiite 
rivalries. Much of the fighting pitted Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's 
Mehdi Army militia against the government security forces dominated by 
members of a rival Shiite group, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.<br><br>The
 offensive sparked fighting in other Shiite towns and in Baghdad's 
predominantly Sadr City, where troops fought Shiite militants until a 
cease-fire was recently forged.<br><br>Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S.
 military official in Iraq, mentioned the Basra offensive during 
testimony on Thursday at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services 
Committee.<br><br>He said the operation -- which was criticized for its 
hasty planning and initially seen by some observers as a government 
failure -- "did have a shaky start." The Senate hearing was over his 
nomination to head U.S. Central Command.<br><br>Petraeus said the operation has since had "enormous progress that has produced very positive tactical and strategic results."<br><br>"The
 tactical results are the return of control to legitimate security 
forces in Basra, something for which the .... people of that city and 
province are quite grateful and they're pleased about."<br><br>Browne said it was his ninth visit to Basra over the past two years.<br><br>"In that time there have been highs and there have been lows. I have seen progress and I have seen that progress stall.<br><br><br>"But
 never have I seen the Iraqi army operating with such confidence and 
enjoying such support from the local people. This would not have been 
possible without the hard work of the British military," he said.</span>
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