[NYTr] Britain will pull out half of its Iraq force

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[Or so they say...]

Wash Post via San Francisco Chronicle - Oct 9, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/09/MNJOSM83D.DTL

Britain will pull out half of its Iraq force

by Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post

(10-09) 04:00 PDT London--Britain will cut its troop strength in Iraq
by half in the coming months, from more than 5,000 to about 2,500 next
spring, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Monday.

Speaking in the House of Commons on the opening day of Parliament's
fall session, Brown said the reduction is possible because of improving
security in Iraq, particularly what he called a calmer situation around
Basra, where British troops are based.

During his announcement, hundreds of anti-war protesters marched
outside, and opposition lawmakers pressed him with questions over
Britain's role in the Iraq war, long unpopular in Britain.

"The harsh truth is that Britain's involvement in Iraq has been a
catastrophe," Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell said.

He said Britain should withdraw completely from Iraq as soon as
possible.

Brown rejected the idea of a timetable for complete withdrawal. He said
any further cuts will be made based on military commanders' assessment
of conditions in Iraq. It was his first major parliamentary address on
Iraq since he took office in June.

He said Britain is switching to a strictly "overwatch" role of training
Iraqi soldiers and police officers, protecting supply routes into the
country and patrolling the border with Iran. He said British troops
also will be available for a re-intervention to help Iraqi forces if
necessary.

He said that role will change gradually to almost exclusively a
training role by spring. As that shift occurs, he said, Britain will
decrease its force size from 5,500 troops - the level at the beginning
of September - to 4,500 by the end of the year, then to 4,000 and
eventually to 2,500 in spring.

He said an additional 500 support troops will be stationed in the
region, outside Iraq. Analysts said they probably will be based in
Kuwait.

The British presence in Iraq peaked at 46,000 troops during the
invasion of coalition forces in March 2003. It was reduced to 18,000
that May and to 8,600 by the end of May 2004.

U.S. military officials are concerned that the reduction could open
security gaps along routes to and from Kuwait.

The roadways are a lifeline for U.S. forces. And everything the
Americans can't fly out of the country when they eventually leave must
make the road journey to Kuwait through Basra province, a potentially
dangerous route.

The U.S. military also is concerned about the security of the southern
oil fields and fear the absence of a major British force will
discourage future investment, deemed essential to upgrading Iraq's
decrepit petroleum infrastructure. Security along the southwestern
border of Iran is another worry.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration said it welcomed the British
announcement.

"Moving to overwatch status is the desired outcome for all coalition
forces in Iraq as the Iraqis continue to take over more security,"
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Brown also said Monday that Iraqis who worked as interpreters and
translators for British forces will be eligible for financial and other
help to relocate to Britain or other countries where they feel safe.
Brown said about 450 people who worked for British forces for at least
a year would be eligible immediately.

Opposition lawmakers repeatedly attacked Brown, with several saying
that as a top Cabinet official under his predecessor, Tony Blair, he
should have done more to prevent the war.

Conservative Party lawmaker Malcolm Rifkind called the Iraq war "the
greatest error in British foreign policy in recent times."

Brown sought to deflect criticism about the war's origins and stressed
what he called Britain's obligation to remain in Iraq to achieve
security, political reconciliation and economic progress.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.