Britain to quit Iraq ‘within a year’

LONDON – British military chiefs are preparing to withdraw troops from Iraq within 12 months in order to concentrate on Afghanistan, The Sunday Telegraph said citing a senior military official.

A new timetable that would see a complete unilateral British withdrawal from Iraq by next May will be presented to incoming prime minister Gordon Brown within weeks of him taking over from Tony Blair on June 27, said the newspaper. Under Blair, Britain has consistently maintained that any pullout of troops in Iraq should be dictated by events on the ground, not a timetable.But the broadsheet said Brown will be told by defence chiefs that Britain should withdraw from Iraq in ‘quick order’ so as to bolster efforts to beat Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.”Britain is not physically capable of fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at the same time,” the unnamed senior military official told the weekly.”The question is: which do we give up? The government and the defence chiefs have decided that we should give up Iraq.”There is an agreed timetable, a glide path, which will see a complete unilateral withdrawal in 12 months.”However, many senior officers believe Iraq is strategically more important to Britain’s interests than Afghanistan and the plan has not met with their approval, said the newspaper.”There is a belief within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and government that success is easier to measure in Afghanistan and that makes it more attractive,” the official said.”Though it is clear to many, both in the US and the British armed forces, that Iraq is strategically far more important than Afghanistan, there is no popular support for the war in Iraq.I think history will show that this was the wrong choice.”At the most senior level in the MoD, the decision has been taken that Britain should be ‘investing’ in Afghanistan rather than Iraq, and that is the advice that will be given to Gordon Brown.”British troop numbers in Iraq are being scaled down from 7 100 to 5 500 this year.British forces are based around the main southern city of Basra.Meanwhile there are more than 6 000 British troops in Afghanistan, mostly in the restive south, a figure set to increase to around 7 700 over the year.A source close to Brown told The Sunday Telegraph: “Gordon has made clear that we will continue to meet our commitments to our allies and to the Iraqi people.”All decisions on troop deployment will continue to be made according to our operational objectives – not political timetables.”Meanwhile an unnamed minister with close links to finance minister Brown told the newspaper that Brown would not be “foolish” and would be “ultimately be guided by the views of the military commanders.”Our withdrawal schedule can be altered.”Nampa-AFPUnder Blair, Britain has consistently maintained that any pullout of troops in Iraq should be dictated by events on the ground, not a timetable.But the broadsheet said Brown will be told by defence chiefs that Britain should withdraw from Iraq in ‘quick order’ so as to bolster efforts to beat Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.”Britain is not physically capable of fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at the same time,” the unnamed senior military official told the weekly.”The question is: which do we give up? The government and the defence chiefs have decided that we should give up Iraq.”There is an agreed timetable, a glide path, which will see a complete unilateral withdrawal in 12 months.”However, many senior officers believe Iraq is strategically more important to Britain’s interests than Afghanistan and the plan has not met with their approval, said the newspaper.”There is a belief within the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and government that success is easier to measure in Afghanistan and that makes it more attractive,” the official said.”Though it is clear to many, both in the US and the British armed forces, that Iraq is strategically far more important than Afghanistan, there is no popular support for the war in Iraq.I think history will show that this was the wrong choice.”At the most senior level in the MoD, the decision has been taken that Britain should be ‘investing’ in Afghanistan rather than Iraq, and that is the advice that will be given to Gordon Brown.”British troop numbers in Iraq are being scaled down from 7 100 to 5 500 this year.British forces are based around the main southern city of Basra.Meanwhile there are more than 6 000 British troops in Afghanistan, mostly in the restive south, a figure set to increase to around 7 700 over the year.A source close to Brown told The Sunday Telegraph: “Gordon has made clear that we will continue to meet our commitments to our allies and to the Iraqi people.”All decisions on troop deployment will continue to be made according to our operational objectives – not political timetables.”Meanwhile an unnamed minister with close links to finance minister Brown told the newspaper that Brown would not be “foolish” and would be “ultimately be guided by the views of the military commanders.”Our withdrawal schedule can be altered.”Nampa-AFP