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Britain Denies Pushing U.S. Troop Plan
The British government underlined on Thursday that it will not "cut and run" from Iraq following that country's election this month, denying reports that London is pushing Washington to set a timetable for withdrawing coalition troops. The official spokesman of Prime Minister Tony Blair said the government was not urging President Bush to announce a timetable. "What is important is not a timetable which is irrespective of the facts in the ground. What is important is that we have a policy that is geared to allowing the Iraqis to take control of their own destiny," he said.The spokesman said the coalition focus remained "Iraqi-ization" _ training the country's armed forces to take responsibility for security. "It is important we do not create a situation in which for the first time a democratically elected government is possible and then abandon it. We will not cut and run is what the prime minister said in April and that remains our position," the spokesman said. Posted by: Fred 2005-01-20 |
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