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| Iraq | |
| Petraeus praises British troops | |
| 2007-09-19 | |
| The US commander in Iraq has praised "the great contribution" made by British troops. Gen David Petraeus said the British military had "done magnificent work" in the face of "tough enemies" and countless other challenges. And he dismissed talk of a split between the US and Britain over the pace of withdrawal of UK troops. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a "more stable" political process in Iraq after talks with Gen Petraeus. US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker also joined the talks in Downing Street. Last week Gen Petraeus said that the "surge", an extra 30,000 US troops deployed in February, was working. At the same time as that surge has taken place, in the south of Iraq Britain has just withdrawn 500 troops from Basra Palace, to join 5,000 at an airbase outside the city. And responsibility for security in much of Basra Province is progressively being handed over to local Iraqi forces, although British troops will continue to provide back up or an "over-watch" role. Gen Petraeus told journalists at the Royal United Services Institute that "various" military and political issues had to be sorted out before the full handover of Basra province, which he said he hoped would happen later this autumn or this winter. He also warned that a premature drawdown of forces from Iraq would have "devastating consequences not only for Iraq and the region, but for our nations and the world". Asked whether there had been a split between the US and UK on the withdrawal of British troops, he said: "I do not know what that's all about. What has been done has been done in close consultation and dialogue with the senior operational command of the multi-national corps." Downing Street said Mr Brown had discussed the security situation in Iraq with Gen Petraeus. It said in a statement: "The PM reiterated that like America, Britain will discharge its duties to the Iraqi people, to our allies and to the international community. "They agreed it was essential for Iraq to achieve a more stable and confident political process. "This included reconciliation with disaffected groups, economic development in Iraq, a more inclusive government, and a genuine attempt to reach consensus on major political issues." President Bush has announced that more than 5,000 of the more than 160,000 US troops in Iraq will leave by Christmas - and 30,000 are expected back in the US by summer 2008. Mr Brown held "cordial and constructive" talks with President Bush on the issue last week by video conference, but has said the UK will make its own decisions about the British military commitment based on "conditions on the ground". He is expected to outline his strategy to MPs when Parliament returns in October. But Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell has urged Mr Brown to say UK troops will be pulled out of Iraq entirely. "The prime minister should tell Gen Petraeus that Britain has fulfilled its moral obligation to Iraq and that our continued presence neither meets military purposed nor political objectives," he said.
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| Posted by:lotp |
| #2 phil_b: I don't really agree with you in principle, because in the Basra area the Iraqi authorities ARE the Iranian insurgents. However, at this point I don't see that we have much of an alternative - neither our citizens and politicians nor the Iraqi majority and government are going to allow us to aggressively pursue the Shia 'militants' for any length of time, so there's not a lot of point losing guys pretending. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-09-19 07:56 |
| #1 I think Basra is a good model for the rest of Iraq. And I'll note the situation in the Kurdish areas is not too dissimilar. Keep the coalition troops in bases away from the population. Ready for to deal with any big problems like Iranian actions. Otherwise let the Iraqi forces deal with the 'insurgents'. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2007-09-19 07:44 |