Britain announces Iraq withdrawl plan

[Said1]

I'm not sure if this was posted already?

British PM announces Iraq troop withdrawal plan


By Luke Baker
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the end of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war on Wednesday, saying almost all its troops would be out by the end of July next year.
Brown's fourth trip to Iraq as prime minister coincided with the drafting by the Iraqi government of a law that obliges British forces to withdraw in mid-2009, more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion.
His trip was not announced in advance, for security reasons, and followed a visit on Sunday by U.S. President George W. Bush, who had to dodge shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist angry at the sectarian slaughter unleashed by the invasion.
Shortly after Brown met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, twin bomb blasts in Baghdad killed 18 people and wounded 53, in a reminder of the violence that has only recently begun to wane.
"The role played by the UK combat forces is drawing to a close. These forces will have completed their tasks in the first half of 2009 and will then leave Iraq," Brown and Maliki said in a joint statement.
"But the partnership between the two countries will continue to take on new dimensions."
Britain, Iraq's former colonial power, was the United States' main partner in the war. Its forces have shrunk to just 4,100 soldiers now based near the southern city of Basra, where Brown headed after a brief visit to Baghdad.
Britain says its work in the south of Iraq is done and that Basra is now safely in the hands of Iraqi security forces.
"They've done some of the most difficult work ... building a democracy for the future and defending it against terrorism," Brown said of the 100,000 British soldiers he estimated had served in Iraq since 2003.
"I said we would stay until we'd finished the job we set out to do. The tasks that we set out to do have been done and that's why we can take a decision to bring most of our forces home," he said later, just before leaving Iraq.
LOW PROFILE
People questioned in Basra, which controls most of Iraq's oil exports, seemed unlikely to miss Britain's presence.
"I do not think the British forces brought any benefit to Basra, not before and not now," said Muntazer Jabar, 55, a retired military officer who runs a supermarket.
"There's no need for them to delay their withdrawal. It'd be better for them and for us if they withdraw now."
The withdrawal could help Britain focus on Afghanistan, where the Taliban and other groups are stepping up attacks

Continued Here: British PM announces Iraq troop withdrawal plan | International | Reuters

 

[Tyr]

I'm not sure if this was posted already?




Continued Here: British PM announces Iraq troop withdrawal plan | International | Reuters

There are only about 6,500 NON-AMERICAN troops in Iraq and they are pretty much just a token force.

That doesn't include the 161,000 contractors or the 20-30,000 mercenaries running rampant throughout the country.

Iraq seemd to be a "testing" ground for American weapons systems and battle manouvers after the WMD justification evaporated

Iraq War Coalition troop deployment[hide]​

Active troopsWithdrawn troopsMultinational Force Iraq units

• United States: 250,000 invasion—144,000 current (8/08)
• United Kingdom: 45,000 invasion—4,100 current (9/08)
• Australia: 2,000 invasion—~350 current (12/08)

TOTAL INVASION DEPLOYMENT

• ~297,000 troops

CURRENT DEPLOYMENT BY COUNTRY

• Denmark: 545 peak—(deployed 4/03)
• Romania: 730 peak—501 current (11/08; deployed 7/03)
• El Salvador: 380 peak—200 current (8/08; deployed 8/03)
• Estonia: 40 troops (12/08; deployed 6/05)
• Singapore: 175 offshore (12/08; deployed 12/03)

APPROXIMATE TOTAL DEPLOYMENT AS OF 8/08

• 151,000 troops (incl. ~6,500 non-U.S.)

 

[Tyr]

I forgot

Iceland: 2 troops (deployed 5/03—withdrawal date unknown)

These two guys...

They just got "bum" airline tickets and were dropped off in Bagdad as a lark. Part of a "hazing thing" in the Icelandic military

 

[gopher]

Yup. Bush's coalition of the dwindling has taken a mighty fall.