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Bush to pullout 30,000 troops from Iraq next July
Baghdad, Jun 16, (VOI) - U.S. President George Bush on Monday announced the withdrawal of 30,000 troops next July, highlighting that any further withdrawal of the troops will depend on the security conditions in the country.This came during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London. The U.S. president linked any further withdrawal of U.S. forces with the improvement of Iraqi forces capabilities and their abilities to bear more responsibilities, as well as the economic improvement and more progress regarding political reconciliation. This strategy aims at handing Iraqis more responsibilities, Bush said. For his part, Brown denied any impact of the political argument on his governments stance. There is a work to do in Iraq and we will continue our work, Brown added, stressing that he would not outline any time table for British forces withdrawal. He highlighted that his forces realized more progress in Iraq as well as the Iraqi forces. Reports have been circulated over possible British withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2008. Brown also said during a press conference last week that he will deliver a speech on British forces' deployment in Iraq before the parliament's recess. The British forces in the oil-rich port city of Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, keep 4,100 troops within the MNF in Iraq after withdrawing more than half of its forces. Britain was the United States' prime ally in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ceremonies to hand over security responsibilities in Basra province from the British forces to the Iraqi authorities took place at the Basra International Airport in December 2007. Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-06-16 |
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