Blair to Announce Iraq Withdrawal Plan

[ieffinhatecardio]

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20070220/D8NDO7EO1.html

By THOMAS WAGNER

LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce on Wednesday a new timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, with 1,500 to return home in several weeks, the BBC reported.

Blair will also tell the House of Commons during his regular weekly appearance that a total of about 3,000 British soldiers will have left southern Iraq by the end of 2007, if the security there is sufficient, the British Broadcasting Corp. said, quoting government officials who weren't further identified.

The announcement comes even as President Bush implements an increase of 21,000 more troops for Iraq.

But Blair said Sunday that Washington had not put pressure on London to maintain its troop numbers. The BBC said Blair was not expected to say when the rest of Britain's forces would leave Iraq. Britain currently has about 7,100 soldiers there.

Blair's Downing Street office refused to comment on the BBC report.

Blair and Bush talked by secure video link Tuesday morning, and Bush said Britain's troop cutbacks were "a sign of success" in Iraq.

"The president is grateful for the support of the British Forces in the past and into the future," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Washington. "While the United Kingdom is maintaining a robust force in southern Iraq, we're pleased that conditions in Basra have improved sufficiently that they are able to transition more control to the Iraqis.

"The United States shares the same goal of turning responsibility over to the Iraqi Security Forces and reducing the number of American troops in Iraq," Johndroe 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."

"We want to bring our troops homes as well," Johndroe said. "It's the model we want to emulate, to turn over more responsibilities to Iraqis and bring our troops home. That's the goal and always has been."

Blair said last month that he would report to lawmakers on his future strategy in Iraq following the completion of Operation Sinbad, a joint British and Iraqi mission targeting police corruption and militia influence in the southern city of Basra.

On Sunday, Blair told the BBC that the operation was completed.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said in January that Operation Sinbad offered the prospect of a "turning point for Iraq, hopefully in the near future."

Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who is likely to succeed Blair by September, has said he hoped several thousand British soldiers would be withdrawn by December.

As recently as late last month, Blair rejected opposition calls to withdrawal British troops by October, calling such a plan irresponsible.

"That would send the most disastrous signal to the people that we are fighting in Iraq. It's a policy that, whatever its superficial attractions may be, is actually deeply irresponsible," Blair said on Jan. 24 in the House of Commons.

Blair, who has said he will step down as prime minister by September after a decade in power, has seen his foreign-policy record overshadowed by his role as Bush's leading ally in the unpopular war.

[ribonucleic]

Another cut-and-run Defeatocrat.

[BRUCE]

Another cut-and-run Defeatocrat.

I feel for Tony Blair - he's the best Leftist politician we've seen for a long time.  America has the military might to hold its own in Iraq, but it's losing the ideological war to the jihadists with respect to its 'allies'.  Europe is rapidly slipping.

[ieffinhatecardio]

This is my favorite quote, "Blair and Bush talked by secure video link Tuesday morning, and Bush said Britain's troop cutbacks were "a sign of success" in Iraq."

I wonder exactly what success he's talking about?

[George Stinky Bush]

The coalition of the willing is slowly shrinking. What’s next? Will Romania pull out their 5 troops?

[BRUCE]

This is my favorite quote, "Blair and Bush talked by secure video link Tuesday morning, and Bush said Britain's troop cutbacks were "a sign of success" in Iraq."

I wonder exactly what success he's talking about?

You're right to point out that it's not, but it's also understandable that a positive stance has to be taken.

It's sad for me to say this about my country of birth, but England is sinking, and it isn't Global Warming that's doing it.

[ieffinhatecardio]

You're right to point out that it's not, but it's also understandable that a positive stance has to be taken.

It's sad for me to say this about my country of birth, but England is sinking, and it isn't Global Warming that's doing it.

Did you just admit that something Bush said was utter nonsense? Wow. I need a minute to recover. You didn't even try and spin it, I'm impressed.

There may be hope for you yet.

[ieffinhatecardio]

The coalition of the willing is slowly shrinking. What’s next? Will Romania pull out their 5 troops?

LOL, I thought Romania was up to 6 troops now.

Wasn't Blair taking a huge beating at home for his participation in Iraq? I could have sworn that I read he was taking a lot of heat for following Bush.

[George Stinky Bush]

WHo will be left to protect Halberton?

[BRUCE]

Did you just admit that something Bush said was utter nonsense? Wow. I need a minute to recover. You didn't even try and spin it, I'm impressed.

There may be hope for you yet.

Perhaps if you spent less time trying to engage in petty arguments with me, and more reading my posts, you'd notice I spin less than you'd like to think.  

Blair was under immense pressure in the UK from the media, peers and the public.  England has lost its way: what happened to this once great civilisation?

[George Stinky Bush]

Perhaps if you spent less time trying to engage in petty arguments with me, and more reading my posts, you'd notice I spin less than you'd like to think. 

Blair was under immense pressure in the UK from the media, peers and the public.  England has lost its way: what happened to this once great civilisation?

The SSSSSSPice Girls were their down fall.

[BRUCE]

The SSSSSSPice Girls were their down fall.

The next Spice Girls will be wearing the niqab if things keep going this way.

[George Stinky Bush]

British chicks would get laid more if they wore it.

[ieffinhatecardio]

Perhaps if you spent less time trying to engage in petty arguments with me, and more reading my posts, you'd notice I spin less than you'd like to think. 

Blair was under immense pressure in the UK from the media, peers and the public.  England has lost its way: what happened to this once great civilisation?

You even admitted that you spin. What the hell happened to you bruce? Did you leave the dark side? Yoda must be working his magic.

[BRUCE]

You even admitted that you spin. What the hell happened to you bruce? Did you leave the dark side? Yoda must be working his magic.

Maybe my new found diplomacy is due to the fact I'm planning to run for the Oval Office.

[240 is Back]

Another cut-and-run Defeatocrat.

those slow bleed mutherfckers!

[240 is Back]

WHo will be left to protect Halberton?

I'm sure we can "surge" up a few guys.

[George Stinky Bush]

I'm sure we can "surge" up a few guys.

Send in Mexico. The war will be over in a a day.

[George Stinky Bush]

[240 is Back]

Send in Mexico. The war will be over in a a day.

And it'll cost a total of $780 plus lunch.

[George Stinky Bush]

And it'll cost a total of $780 plus lunch.

[ribonucleic]

This just in... The British withdrawal actually helps Victory-Flavored Surge...

"The Bush administration said Wednesday that Britain's decision to withdraw 1,600 troops from
Iraq is a positive sign that fits with the overall strategy for stabilizing the country."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq

[rockyfortune]

The coalition of the willing is slowly shrinking. What’s next? Will Romania pull out their 5 troops?

nope..lithuania is pulling out it's 53 troops!!! haha..53...that's like dropping the gameday roster of a an NFL football team in there...boy, you have to love Bush's coalition of the willing.

[ieffinhatecardio]

This just in... The British withdrawal actually helps Victory-Flavored Surge...

"The Bush administration said Wednesday that Britain's decision to withdraw 1,600 troops from
Iraq is a positive sign that fits with the overall strategy for stabilizing the country."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq

I wonder if Bush's inner circle were giggling to themselves when they came up with that particular piece of spin.

[240 is Back]

LOL... Please, please, bring on the neocon getbiggers to defend this!