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Politics & ReligionWell Since every damn forum has one. Might as well leave it out there. This place is loosely moderated and should not be entered if you're weak of heart.
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The British are leaving!!! The British are leaving!!!
Surprise, surprise. George's war will be fought without his biggest supporter's troops soon.
Quote:
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: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...cs/6380933.stm
at the same time that you're calling someone out on slanted ideology, you're pointing to what is arguably political rhetoric. of course blair is going to pay lip service to master bush all along the way, even as he essentially says "you're own your own now, ol' chap." it remains to be seen whether they follow through on their withdrawal as announced, but the fact is they've announced it. america's only real ally in this has had enough.
at the same time that you're calling someone out on slanted ideology, you're pointing to what is arguably political rhetoric. of course blair is going to pay lip service to master bush all along the way, even as he essentially says "you're own your own now, ol' chap." it remains to be seen whether they follow through on their withdrawal as announced, but the fact is they've announced it. america's only real ally in this has had enough.
So tell me where I'm wrong?
They will draw down unless security worsens, while we are expanding because our sectors are worsening. If Baghdad stabilizes we will draw down as well, just as Bush said in regard to benchmarks.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wakey
So tell me where I'm wrong?
They will draw down unless security worsens, while we are expanding because our sectors are worsening. If Baghdad stabilizes we will draw down as well, just as Bush said in regard to benchmarks.
Well, Bush asked for 20K more troops to escalate and hasn't set a timeline for withdrawal, nor have criteria been set for a withdrawal.
They are stating that withdrawal will begin in weeks and may slow down if the situation deteriorates.
Basically, all of these countries (perhaps with the exception of Great Britian) were coerced, bribed or intimidated into thier token involvement. The fact that they're all leaving is simply a measure of Bush's weakness domestically and US weakness internationally. That's the real story here, that we went from the strongest position of foreign policy clout since WWII (on September 12th) to the weakest since the war of 1812.
It's a data point in our lesson on squandering international opportunity.
The British are leaving!!! The British are leaving!!!
