Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 21. februar 2007 / Time Line February 21, 2007
Version 3.520. Februar 2007, 22. Februar 2007
02/21/2007
Blair Announces British Reduction of Forces in Iraq
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2007 - British forces will begin to withdraw
from Iraq, particularly in the southern city of Basra, where Iraqi
security forces have taken primary responsibility for operations,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today.
In an address to the House of Commons, Blair said that 1,600
British troops will come out of Iraq "in the coming months," as
Iraqi security forces take on more responsibility.
The United Kingdom's combat capability in Iraq will not be
diminished, he said, and the remaining British forces will focus on
training Iraqi forces and securing the Iranian border and supply
routes.
Over time and depending on the progress of Iraqi security forces,
Britain will be able to draw down further, possibly to below 5,000
troops once the base at Basra Palace has been transferred to the
Iraqis in late summer, Blair said.
"The U.K. military presence will continue into 2008, for as long as
we are wanted and have a job to do," he said. "Increasingly our
role will be support and training, and our numbers will be able to
reduce accordingly."
At the Pentagon, Bryan Whitman, a Defense Department spokesman,
said Blair's announcement was expected, and that the decrease in
British troops has been planned for some months.
"You know, Basra is not Baghdad, and in Basra, the British have
turned over a lot of responsibilities for the region to Iraqi
security forces," Whitman said. "Even with their planned drawdown,
they will still have a significant presence that will be doing a
number of things."
Whitman noted that many countries still support the coalition
efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether through providing troops
or financial, diplomatic or legal support. It is up to each country
to decide what their participation will be, he stressed.
"I think that the world's democracies understand the importance of
continuing to take the fight to the terrorists, and we see that in
the participation of many nations in both Afghanistan and Iraq,"
Whitman said.
In an interview today with Jonathan Karl of ABC News, Vice
President Dick Cheney said Britain's decision to withdraw forces is
proof that operations are succeeding in some areas of Iraq.
"I look at it, and what I see is an affirmation of the fact that
there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," Cheney
said. "The focus that we've had, obviously, is Baghdad and the
decision the president made to surge troops into Baghdad."
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