Blair: Early troop exit possible
British troops in Iraq could begin to pull out as early as next year if there are sufficient Iraqi forces to maintain security, Tony Blair said today.
His comments echo those made by defence secretary John Reid this morning, who also hinted at the possibility of an early withdrawal.
Speaking after holding talks with Iraqi vice president Adel Abdul Mahdi, Mr Blair laid out his clearest indication yet that a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops is tentatively being put into place.
But he warned that British troops would only begin to return home once it was shown that Iraqi forces could cope effectively on their own.
“I think it’s entirely reasonable to talk about the possibility of withdrawal of troops next year but it’s got to be always conditioned by the fact that we withdraw when the job is done,” the prime minister said.
“This is a completely different situation from a year ago. As that progresses, obviously the need for the multinational force reduces…but it’s a question of that happening when the job is done.
He added: “It’s always been part of our plan to withdraw when the Iraqis are capable of looking after their own security.”
The Iraqi vice president was equally upbeat about the possibility of British troops beginning to withdraw.
“I think we will see a process next year for a certain, partial withdrawal,” Mr Mahdi said.
This morning the defence secretary told Today that he expected to see some British troops return home next year.
“We are not saying that everyone will be out by the end of 2006 but we are saying that this process … is going relatively well and in the course of the next year we could well see the handover to Iraqi forces at certain places in Iraq, including in our own area,” Mr Reid said.
But he added a note of caution, saying that any plans to hand over control to Iraqi forces would be dictated by the level of violence on the ground.
There are currently 8,000 British soldiers stationed in Iraq, mostly in the more stable southern part of the country. However, insurgent attacks in the southern region have risen over the last few months.
