In reality, of course, the civil and guerrilla war under way in the rest of Iraq means that any security in the south can only be a temporary illusion. The choice facing Brown is whether to cling silently to the existing policy, in the futile hope that the problem will go away, or explicitly recognize Britain’s share in the disaster.
英国已经减少了在伊拉克南部的兵力，而且将要在把“治安”交给伊拉克警察和军队的时候继续进一步削减。当然，实际上，在伊拉克其他地方进行的内战和游击战意味着南部的治安只能是一个暂时幻觉。布朗面临的选择是，是否默默地坚持现行政策并且徒然地希望问题会消失，还是明确承认英国在这一灾难中应有的责任。