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| Iraq |
| Maliki Announces Coalition Troop Withdrawal |
| 2006-06-19 |
| From the al Muthanna province, that is. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that coalition troops were to quit the southern province of Muthanna next month, in the first such handover to Iraq's fledgling security forces. "We have a plan Did they get it from the Dems? to transfer security from coalition troops to local forces and the first governorate where it will take place is the province of Al-Muthanna next month," Maliki told reporters. The sparsely-populated and mainly Shiite Muslim province, whose capital is Samawa, has been largely immune from the daily violence plaguing other areas. It is patrolled by 400 Australian and 250 British troops. And some 600 Japanese service personnel are deployed on humanitarian duties in the province on Tokyo's first military mission in a country where hostilities are under way since World War II. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman hailed Maliki's announcement as a "significant step." "That means they are taking control of civil institutions as well as the security responsibility," he said, but added the handover would not mean that the British soldiers deployed in the province would return home. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #2 Murtha won't be happy until he figures out a way to "prove" he's right. |
| Posted by: grb 2006-06-19 18:27 |
| #1 Murtha won't be happy about this. Why the Limeys first? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-19 18:14 |