DebateGate
General Category => 3DHS => Topic started by: Henny on February 21, 2007, 11:59:08 AM
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21/02/2007
LONDON, (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair will on Wednesday announce a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq just as thousands of additional U.S. troops are arriving there to try to restore order in Baghdad.
Blair, whose popularity at home has suffered greatly because of his participation in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, will make his announcement on the troop pullout to parliament in the afternoon, a government source said. He said Blair would say Britain's 7,100-strong Iraq force would fall to 5,500 by the end of the year. The Defence Ministry was expected to flesh out the details on Thursday.
Media reports said the first British troops could leave Iraq around the middle of this year. Sky News television said the government wanted to have all troops out of Iraq by May 2008.
Denmark was also expected to announce plans to cut its Iraq troop commitment on Wednesday but Australia ruled out bringing its soldiers home for now.
U.S. President George W. Bush has ordered a "surge" of 21,500 extra troops to Iraq where U.S. forces now number more than 140,000. Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States wanted to finish its mission in Iraq and "return with honour".
Blair, who is due to step down later this year, was expected to say the British withdrawal reflected its success in southern Iraq, where command of the main Iraqi army unit in Basra was handed over to Iraqis on Tuesday.
Since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, British troops have been responsible for Iraq's southernmost four provinces, which are mainly Shi'ite and have been quieter than mixed or mainly Sunni areas patrolled by Americans.
Bush, who spoke to Blair on Tuesday, was upbeat about the British plans and hoped U.S. forces could follow suit when conditions allowed, the White House said. "President Bush sees this as a sign of success and what is possible for us once we help the Iraqis deal with the sectarian violence in Baghdad," Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said.
Cheney, on a visit to Japan, said Washington would not back "a policy of retreat" despite growing calls at home for a pullout from Iraq, where more than 3,000 U.S. and over 100 British soldiers have been killed. "We know that if we leave Iraq before the mission is completed, the enemy is going to come after us. And I want you to know that the American people will not support a policy of retreat," Cheney said. "We want to complete the mission, we want to get it done right, and we want to return with honour," he said aboard USS Kitty Hawk, an aircraft carrier at Yokosuka Navy Base near Tokyo.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen will announce plans to start drawing down Denmark's roughly 470 troops in Iraq on Wednesday, the Danish news agency Ritzau said. But Prime Minister John Howard ruled out reducing Australia's 1,400-strong force in and around Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called the U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad which started last week a "brilliant success", but a spate of car bombs that have killed scores has tempered early optimism.
A car bomb exploded at a police checkpoint near a busy market in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf on Wednesday, killing 11 people, a doctor at a local hospital said.
Blair said on Sunday that Britain would cut its force once Iraqis were responsible for security in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and key centre for oil exports.
The British handed over security responsibility for two of their four provinces to Iraqis last year and abandoned their main base in a third.
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I don't think it's a coincidence that just recently, Prince Harry (I think) was in the news, he's going to Basra as a part of his unit.
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I thought they annoucned this a couple of days ago. Apparently things are moving along well, that Britain can start moving more of their forces out. That's a good thing, right Lanya?
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I don't think it's a coincidence that just recently, Prince Harry (I think) was in the news, he's going to Basra as a part of his unit.
The British don't seem to have a problem with the Royals serving in war zones. Prince Andrew served during the Falklands War aboard HMS Invincible, one of the ships in the task force that liberated the islands.
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I thought they annoucned this a couple of days ago. Apparently things are moving along well, that Britain can start moving more of their forces out. That's a good thing, right Lanya?
Yeah right- Just as the Bushidiot is surging, Tony the poodle is unsurging. You really are a pathetic joke in your innocent stupidity.
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That's strange, I wasn't aware that British troops were predominantly located in Bagdhad. Oh wait....they're not. I realize this is an impossible task knute, but try to think before you post
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I'm pretty sure Knute's posts are non-binding.
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I'm pretty sure Knute's posts are non-binding.
(http://bestsmileys.com/lol/4.gif)
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http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=166&id=262682007
The British are leaving because the war is not supported any more by the people. The White House is spinning it as 'their job is done, all is well' but I don't buy it.
Tony Blair name is mud at home. Italy's prime minister may be stepping down. I think we may find it very hard to get allies when we really, really need them (like for N. Korea). This has been a very ruinous decision, going into Iraq, and we may feel the effects for many years.
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(http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20070222/spo070221.gif)
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http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=166&id=262682007
The British are leaving because the war is not supported any more by the people. The White House is spinning it as 'their job is done, all is well' but I don't buy it.
Tony Blair name is mud at home. Italy's prime minister may be stepping down. I think we may find it very hard to get allies when we really, really need them (like for N. Korea). This has been a very ruinous decision, going into Iraq, and we may feel the effects for many years.
So we might should have won it , then the reprecussions would not be so bad.
Or maybe it isn't over?
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The White House is spinning it as 'their job is done, all is well' but I don't buy it... Tony Blair name is mud at home.
Of course you don't.....you can't in fact. Bush is that bad, the Iraq war is that wrong. They have to be leaving because it's an utter failure, it just can't be because they no longer need so many British Troops...because that would mean *gasp* the war is going better now, and we sure as hell can't have that :-\ News Flash Lanya....the British people haven't supported the war since the get go, if you hadn't noticed
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070222/wl_nm/australia_afghan_dc
Australia withdrew its special forces commandos from Afghanistan last September, but The Australian newspaper said Australia would send about 250 special forces troops back to Afghanistan, as well as extra helicopter support.
Nelson said while Australia had not yet made a formal decision to deploy extra troops to Afghanistan, he had discussed the issue with the Netherlands, British and U.S. governments and Australians should not be surprised if extra troops were sent.
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I don't think it's a coincidence that just recently, Prince Harry (I think) was in the news, he's going to Basra as a part of his unit.
Also, it's my understanding that Prince Harry is still being deployed to Iraq. The partial troop pullout has not changed the Prince's current deployment.
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Also, it's my understanding that Prince Harry is still being deployed to Iraq. The partial troop pullout has not changed the Prince's current deployment.
Nor has Blair's comments changed that the reason for his pulling troops out of the region is the successes they've (Coalition forces) been having, and in acknowledging the the new majority Shiite rule
But that can't be the reason. It just can't be
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The UK is pulling out because the British public has ALWAYS been against this stupid war, and they feel that the presence of their troops is merely making the situation more violent.
This also has to be quite expensive for them.
It is probable that there was a secret accord that the Brits would not stay past a certain date, and that date is soon to come.
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The UK is pulling out because the British public has ALWAYS been against this stupid war, and they feel that the presence of their troops is merely making the situation more violent.
That's why they pulled out right after Saddam was taken out........oh wait
This also has to be quite expensive for them.
What war isn't?
It is probable that there was a secret accord that the Brits would not stay past a certain date, and that date is soon to come.
Oh "obviously" that has to be the case ::)
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It is probable that there was a secret accord that the Brits would not stay past a certain date, and that date is soon to come.
I guess that secret accord also had several dates, since the Brits are only pulling out 1,600 (22%) of their troops?
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The British do hate this war in Iraq and generally always have. More importantly to Blair is that the Labour Party has lost a lot of support due to the war and he is likely very concerned that Gordon Brown (his handpicked successor) may not be able to retain the post after he leaves.
It has nothing to do with Prince Harry and in general the royals aren't much of a concern for British MP's unless you're of a particular faction of the Conservative Party known as the "flag and family" group of whom there just aren't very many.
the British people haven't supported the war since the get go, if you hadn't noticed
I have no idea where you get your information Sirs, but it confirms to me that you really don't know much about the world beyond the U.S.
According to MORI (IPSOS MORI is a respected polling firm in Britain) the beginning of the war had a 23% approval rating. By 2005 support was hovering around 30 to 35%.
The majority of British citizens didn't believe that Saddam Hussein should have received the death penalty. I think your perception of Britain is way off.
This also has to be quite expensive for them.
I think the real issue is political. Tony Blair is a political mastermind. Probably one of the best politicians of modern times in both Britain and the United States. I'd place him up there with Clement Atlee, Pierre Trudeau, and Bill Clinton. Perhaps more intelligent than all three. You can bet that he's looked at this from every angle and it has little or nothing to do with the "job being done" (mind you Prime Minister Blair also said "the invasion has been a disaster" in November).
He may be concerned that Brown won't win the Labour Party nomination or that David Cameron and the Tories are a real threat to win in a general election. The Tories and Liberal Democrats have opposed the war as have a group within Labour. As American-centric as we tend to be, I think this has far more to do with Westminster than Baghdad or Washington DC.
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the British people haven't supported the war since the get go, if you hadn't noticed
I have no idea where you get your information Sirs, but it confirms to me that you really don't know much about the world beyond the U.S. According to MORI (IPSOS MORI is a respected polling firm in Britain) the beginning of the war had a 23% approval rating (read; vast majority unsupportive). By 2005 support was hovering around 30 to 35%. (read; vast majority unsupportive)
Now I'm confused. You claim my position that the British people haven't been supporting the war since the get go is ..... well, apparently wrong, then post a reference supporting my very position, as validating how wrong I was?? ???
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Apologies, I thought you said they "have" been supportive.
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No problemmo
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No problemmo
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Should you be wishing to demonstrate your knowledge of Spanish, this is "No hay problema"
"No problemmo" and "Exactamundo" are the sort of bastard Spanglish that Latino comics use when they imitate ignorant gringos to get a laugh from Chicano audiences in LA.
Para que sepas...
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No problemmo
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Should you be wishing to demonstrate your knowledge of Spanish, this is "No hay problema"
I have miniscule knowledge in speaking spanish, and have no interest in learning such, outside of using it in comical ways such as the above, but thank you all the same Xo ::)
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I have miniscule knowledge in speaking spanish, and have no interest in learning such, outside of using it in comical ways such as the above, but thank you all the same Xo Roll Eyes
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It is interesting to recognize your determination to remain steadfastly ignorant.
Somewhat enlightening as well...
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It is interesting to recognize your determination to remain steadfastly ignorant. Somewhat enlightening as well...
You should talk Mr "it's obvious" :D