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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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From: bentway	2/20/2007 9:34:42 PM
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Blair 'to confirm Iraq timetable' Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq. Mr Blair is set to make a statement about the 7,000 British troops serving in Iraq at the Commons. The BBC's James Landale said 1,500 troops were expected to return home in months, rising to 3,000 by Christmas. Downing Street has not confirmed the reports but Whitehall sources have told the BBC the process could be slowed down if the situation in Iraq worsens. 'Robust force' A Downing Street spokesman said: "It is right that the prime minister should update Parliament first." We should have a target for the withdrawal of all British troops by the end of October this year Sir Menzies Campbell However, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe confirmed that President George W Bush had spoken to Mr Blair on Tuesday. Mr Bush recently announced plans to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq. Mr Johndroe said: "While the United Kingdom is maintaining a robust force in southern Iraq, we're pleased that conditions in Basra have improved sufficiently that they are able to transition more control to the Iraqis. "The United States shares the same goal of turning responsibility over to the Iraqi Security Forces and reducing the number of American troops in Iraq." Wednesday's expected statement comes days after Mr Blair said the operation to allow Iraqis to take the lead in frontline security in Basra - Operation Sinbad - had been "completed" and "successful". BBC political correspondent James Landale said: "We have been expecting an announcement for some time on this." However, he said reports that all troops will have returned home by the end of 2008 was "not a fair representation of what is true at the moment". 'Disastrous signal' Our correspondent said senior Whitehall sources had told him that the pullout was "slightly slower" than they had expected and "if conditions worsen this process could still slow up". Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "If these reports are true, a reduction in British forces in Iraq is to be welcomed. "But I still believe that our presence exacerbates the security situation and we should have a target for the withdrawal of all British troops by the end of October this year." But Mr Blair has previously said that to "set an arbitrary timetable... that we will pull British troops out in October, come what may... would send the most disastrous signal to the people we are fighting in Iraq". A total of 132 British Armed Forces personnel have died serving in Iraq since March 2003. The funeral of the latest - that of Private Luke Simpson, of the 1st Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment - is due to take place on Wednesday. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk

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