THE task of the DDLI in Basra is two-fold: to drive down terrorism and to train up the Iraqi police to take over the security of the country themselves. They are up against rival militia groups, a web of complex family and tribal loyalties and corruption. My visit started last Thursday with a briefing from the Commanding Officer, Lt Col?Toffer? Beattie, from Blandford. He said: ?If we weren?t here there would be an almost unimaginable scramble for power. It would be meltdown.? He said that the DDLI was making a huge difference to the situation in southern Iraq, but that progress would have to be measured in ?inches not yards?. ?We arrived in a political maelstrom just as Nouri Maliki was confirmed as Prime Minister. There was huge optimism but also confusion. The security situation was deteriorating. The UK forces suffered seven fatalities as a result of three separate incidents. ?The guys are now used to the tempo but found it quite bewildering at first.? Last week, C Company, guarding the port of Umm Qasr on the Kuwait border, discovered a large roadside bomb aimed at US convoys. That morning troops had confiscated an arsenal of illegal weapons and made several arrests. The previous evening, he had negotiated the release of a UK national from Iraqi security. By the time they leave in November, Lt Col Beattie, 40, said he hoped the police would be self-supporting. ?A huge amount has been achieved but there are still big security issues. ?If we give people more confidence in leading their lives, if we can nurture the early buds of economic development, if we get it right it will be slow and gradual, we will try to make them look like Iraqi successes.? Police corruption was a still serious obstacle ? particularly at the highest levels. ?Until that is sorted out the police force is never going to be truly impartial.? RIGHT: The centre of Az Zubayr