Straw confident in new timetable for Iraq
The Foreign Secretary today claimed that the handover of power from the US-led coalition to the Iraqi authorities was ‘on schedule’ thanks to a combination of political process and military effort.
Jack Straw’s comments came during a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital, which has allowed him to hold meetings with the Iraqi governing council and the coalition provisional authority to assess the situation on the ground. Baghdad has been at the centre of a terrorist campaign against the US-led coalition for nearly six months now, following the official end of the war.
But Mr. Straw claimed that a lot had changed since he had last visited the country at the start of July, and that significant progress had been made to secure ‘full Iraqi sovereignty’.
Reporters suggested to Mr Straw this morning that the security situation in Baghdad was as bad as ever, if not worse. 245 American soldiers have now died since the end of major combat on May 1 – more than the number killed during the actual war.
But Mr Straw commented: “Everybody understands that there are security problems, and I for one have never sought to underestimate those. But what I am told and I believe is that life for a very large number of people in Iraq is considerably better in terms of their living standards, and would be infinitely better if we and when we can get on top of the security situation. One crucial way in which you do that is by ensuring as rapid a transfer of power as possible.”
There is no indication as to when British troops will pull out of Iraq, and it is unlikely that the military presence will reduce significantly before the transition of power in June next year. Mr Straw noted only that troops would stay “as long as the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people want us to stay and there is a job for us to do”.
Mr Straw arrived last night and has been closely guarded ever since. Reports suggest that he has not left the military compound where he is staying and he has been unable to talk to Iraqi citizens on the streets of Baghdad.
He appeared pleased with the new timetable for handover of power, recently instigated in the so-called 15 November Agreement. However, critics such as French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin are continuing to claim that the ‘accelerated’ plans are too slow.
