Thousands of British troops home from Iraq next year – Daily Mail

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The daily mirror today majority of British troops could be brought home from Iraq by as early as April next year, as cabinet minister Douglas Alexander revealed yesterday. According to a report of that daily, the International Development Secretary confirmed that the Government was looking to the first half of 2009 to carry out a ‘significant drawdown’ of around 4,000 British troops still based in the country. Alexander, who has been visiting Basra, said Britain was working with the Iraqi Government to set out a firm timetable for the withdrawal, according to the British newspaper The Daily Mail. His comments coincide with the election of new American President Barack Obama, who campaigned on the pledge that he will remove all US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months. The prospect of an early withdrawal from Iraq was also raised by the Justice Secretary Jack Straw on BBC1’s Question Time program on Thursday night. When asked if the last British soldier would leave with the last American soldier, he responded that they would leave ‘earlier’ than that. The Daily Mail said that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has previously promised that there would be a ‘fundamental change’ in the nature of Britain’s mission in Iraq. But he has refused to put a firm timetable on troop withdrawals. British forces have been based in Basra in Southern Iraq since the invasion in 2003 – more than five yeas ago. But their presence has been dramatically scaled down over recent years with around 4,000 troops now left stationed at the airport. The role of the force has also shifted from a combat one to a diplomatic one. Alexander prompted fresh speculation that an announcement on the final phase of troop withdrawal could come as early as Christmas in an interview with Sky News. He said: ‘We’ll continue to work closely with the government of Iraq but we will see a significant drawdown of British troops as a recognition of the progress and success that’s been enjoyed here in Basra. ‘We are looking ahead to the first half of 2009 but our focus at the moment is securing the possibility that I’ve seen today which is for further jobs, further investment, further prosperity.” Brown later tried to play down the reports by insisting that there was ‘no change’ in the current policy. The Prime Minister said: ‘I want to be absolutely clear that there is no change in our policy. ‘Our policy … is to continue and to finish the work we have agreed to do in Iraq: training the Iraqi troops – we are training thousands of Iraqi troops and Iraqi policemen and women; we are pursuing a strategy to give people in Basra, the area in which we are involved, a stake in the economic future of that area and we are involved in a great deal of economic development there; and we are trying to make sure that local elections take place so that local leaders are in place. ‘Once we have done these things, there will be that fundamental change of mission.” Brown added that troops would remain in place while the Iraqi police were trained, the economic recovery of Basra was supported and local elections were arranged. ‘Until we have done these things, there will be no fundamental change in our position,” he said. MH (R)/AmR 1