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Iraq
Blair to announce withdrawal of British troops from Iraq
2007-02-21
The number of British troops in Iraq will be almost halved by the end of the year, Tony Blair will announce today.
1,500 of the 7,000 UK servicemen and women in southern Iraq are due to return within two months. A further 1,500 are expected to pull out by Christmas.
The Prime Minister will tell MPs that 1,500 of the 7,000 UK servicemen and women in southern Iraq are due to return within two months. A further 1,500 are expected to pull out by Christmas as responsibility for maintaining order in and around Basra is transferred to Iraqi security forces. Whitehall sources were playing down suggestions that all British troops will be out by the end of 2008. But they added that the withdrawal could be reversed if conditions deteriorate.

Mr Blair's announcement, either during Prime Minister's Questions or in a Commons statement, comes four days after he proclaimed the success of Operation Sinbad in securing Basra, which he said would pave the way for a handover to Iraqi forces. He said: "It is absolutely true, as we have said for months, that as the Iraqis are more capable down in Basra of taking control of their security, we will scale down. But you have to make sure you have sufficient forces in support."

Although Mr Blair said there is no division with the White House on the issue, the move will increase the pressure on President George Bush, who faces deepening hostility among the American public to the war.
The partial British withdrawal comes as the US is bolstering its presence in Iraq by sending 21,000 troopsto back up a drive against insurgents in Baghdad. Although Mr Blair said there is no division with the White House on the issue, the move will increase the pressure on President George Bush, who faces deepening hostility among the American public to the war.

Mr Bush said that Britain's withdrawal was "a sign of success" in Iraq, saying that he was "grateful for the support of the British forces in the past and into the future". He added: "We want to bring our troops home as well. It's the model we want to emulate, to turn over more responsibility to Iraqis and bring our troops home."

It is planned that the 1,500 British troops due to return during April when their tour of duty ends will not be replaced. Another 1,500 will withdraw from the Basra frontline to barracks to prepare for their departure by December. The beginning of the handover was signalled yesterday when the Iraqi Army division in Basra left Coalition command. It is now taking orders from its army headquarters in Baghdad.
Posted by:Fred

#14  Fundamentally, this is not Britain's war. Their war will be fought inside Britain. Part of Britian may feel a perverse pleasure in seeing Gulliver hobbled by misplaced application of civility to fundamentally barbaric muslim cultures. Part of Britain may feel the need to deflect muslim action against them and conserve resources for the slaughter to come.

Horrible strategic assumptions have been made by our government. They have been fundamentally unable identify, in the face of massive evidence, our central enemies Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan, nor take any action against them. Instead we have wasted vast resources nibbling at the margins of Afghanistan and Iraq while vastly enriching all our enemies, not just the 3 mentioned. Any rational definition of victory of our chosen method of conflict is predicated on a voluntary change of heart and culture of muslim societies. NOT GONNA HAPPEN when subterfuge, oppression and murder is the norm in islam. What a horribly stupid and wasteful way to wage war against those whose goal is to utterly destroy us. Nobody likes to follow a strategy where we fight with both hands tied and blindfolded while the other side decides the conditions of victory.
Posted by: ed   2007-02-21 23:46  

#13  Denmark is also going to pull out. This coming after Americans stood up for them and the Murderhammadian's cartoon fest.
Posted by: Icerigger   2007-02-21 18:51  

#12  The MSM would never be allowed to have such an upbeat assessment TW. I also read today (via Drudge) that Secretary Rice denies the coalition is crumbling. It's actually one of the few times I've heard Rooters/Liberal Left acknowledge the presence of a coalition.
Posted by: Intrinsicpilot   2007-02-21 13:27  

#11  When they leave - 2 likely scenarios:

1. Iran stays put and lets their proxies get Basra re-organized.
2. Iran says f**k-it were coming in and you can't stop us.

Either way Basra will become the first "official" external state of Iran in Iraq.
Posted by: Jack is Back   2007-02-21 13:24  

#10  I heard this story on NPR this morning, and at the end, very much by the way, the reporter mentioned that the Prime Minister said the troops were to move to guarding the border with Iran to prevent infiltration and such, while Basra and environs would be turned over to the control of Iraqi forces. Could it be that, now that Iraq is ready to take control of the area (presumably with American trainers and such in tow), the Brits are realigning their forces for the next effort... and giving overextended troops a respite back home? And that Mr Blair is positioning the whole thing most effectively for public consumption?
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-02-21 12:30  

#9  British leave..and the looting begins.....
Posted by: crazyhorse   2007-02-21 12:03  

#8  The Brits had ~40,000 in the 2003 evolution, so this is nothing new. They have been steadily decreasing forces since the initial victory. If they are willing to commit one of the royal family to OIF, then things are apparently well in hand. Thanks, guys. If we need you again, we will call you.
Posted by: RWV   2007-02-21 11:54  

#7  Dubya and his team, I think, had this part of it wrong from the outset. They don't seem to understand how their "get out quick, hurry!" body English has helped set the stage for their current political circumstances:

"He added: 'We want to bring our troops home as well. It's the model we want to emulate, to turn over more responsibility to Iraqis and bring our troops home.'"

OK, so we can't really expect the right approach (a fairly growling president, CENTCOM and MNF-I commanders sternly stating how we're going to hunt down our enemies and crush them and our determination and patience are unlimited). But this departure-as-an-objective stuff has played a part - along with the now-jettisoned all-leverage and all-politics "strategy" to secure Sunni submission - in undermining political support among the large segment that is not particularly opposed to Iraq but is not really committed to victory either.

Our British friends here can correct me, but my distinct impression from direct contact with nearly uniformly discouraged and fatalistic British officers at the Palace over almost two years, and my observation of goings-on in the UK (Conservative triangulation, financial hollowing-out of the armed forces, etc.) is that the UK is just about out of the game in the sense of being the only other significant military power with a will to act.

I give Blair credit for hanging in there against ferocious opposition, and being very eloquent in his articulation of the issues - and I'll over-look the de rigeur idiocy he has spouted on the Israeli-Arab situation .....
Posted by: Verlaine   2007-02-21 11:52  

#6  TBH im not really happy at all with Blair openly giving a troop withdrawal timetable. This just sucks of appeasement to the mass of hysterical left. And im not happy about the policy that seems to be beginning , as regards the isolation of USA . Frkkin politicians make me wanna scream .

Posted by: MacNails   2007-02-21 10:59  

#5  I heard this this morning on the AM radio, and found the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" tones hilarious.

They first praised Britain for pulling out ("Get the troops home now!"). Then, they turned around and interviewed some donk from a DC Think Tank and he said (basically) that it'll be bad news because the "sectarian violence will escalate, once the Brits leave."

I then thought to myself, you're *screwed* either way, Blair, so why not just go ahead and pull the trigger? You can't win in the Court of Public Opinion™, so why NOT do what's right? History will be a lot kinder to you and Dubya than these MSM/Think Tankers will be!
Posted by: BA   2007-02-21 09:59  

#4  Quite, Gromguru. But I think without the Brits providing a watchful eye it will get a hell of a lot worse.
Posted by: Howard UK   2007-02-21 08:26  

#3  Should be something to monitor, ie, a case study in why we must NOT leave Iraq prematurely.
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-02-21 07:32  

#2  ... bets on how long the Shia clerics will take to turn Basra to shit after the Brits disappear.

You mean it isn't one now?
Posted by: gromgoru   2007-02-21 07:21  

#1  Place your bets on how long the Shia clerics will take to turn Basra to shit after the Brits disappear.
Posted by: Howard UK   2007-02-21 05:22  

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