A long wait

We still have more than 4,000 British soldiers in Iraq but the Defence Secretary Des Browne claims that Basra is now a city transformed. We went to find out if that is true. It is a much safer place now that the militias have more or less been driven out. But it has not been transformed in a way that makes it a decent place to live. The reconstruction that was promised when Saddam was overthrown has not happened and that does not bode well for the future. The madness that is Iraq Basra airport is seriously weird. Its runway is longer than Heathrow's and its concrete is so thick it can land the world's biggest aircraft. IT has a terminal to match. It looks like a real international airport - exactly what southern Iraq needs if it's to develop economically - but it's not. It's all a bit of an illusion. John Humphrys returned to... [read full story]