Thursday, March 24, 2005

Troops in Iraq Until 2006 - Official

British troops are settling in for at least another year in Iraq. The cross-party Defence Committee has said in a report that:

"In light of the state of the insurgency and the condition of the Iraqi security forces ... it seems likely that British forces will be present in Iraq in broadly similar numbers to the current deployment into 2006"

The report said progress in Iraq, in many respects, had been "impressive" but it also said London and Washington had underestimated the insurgency and neglected Iraq's borders with Syria and Iran, facilitating an influx of foreign fighters.

So, my American friends, while your administration continually refuses to be drawn over how long US troops will be in Iraq, does anyone think the US will pull out before Britain does? No? I thought not. So there you have it - at least another year.

Personally, I am sticking to my original prediction, based on British Army sources, that the troops will be there until the end of Bush's term in office.

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