Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted Wednesday that British troops will stay in Iraq as long as necessary, as he battled to face down new criticism over his strategy in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
But speaking in the House of Commons, Blair reiterated that Britain's policy was to progressively cut its troops in Iraq - while warning that premature withdrawal would be "disastrous" "It is our policy to withdraw progressively from Iraq as the Iraqi forces are capable of taking on the security task.
"That is why it is important, when we are able to hand over to them that we do so, otherwise of course we are a provocation rather than a help to them," Blair added.
Blair has been on the defensive since army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt last week said that British troops should leave Iraq "sometime soon" because they were exacerbating Britain's security problems.
And new criticism emerged Wednesday from a commander who recently returned from southern Afghanistan, where British troops have faced a growing wave of fatal attacks in recent weeks from Taliban insurgents.
Specifically Brigadier Ed Butler, head of the 3 Para Battle Group in Afghanistan, said the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 prevented British troops from securing Afghanistan and cost years of progress there. "We could have carried on in 2002 in the same way we have gone about business now," he said, adding: "Have the interim four years made a difference? I think realistically they have."
The fresh criticism also comes as the United States - which has long counted on Blair as its chief ally in both countries - reconsiders its overall strategy over how to deal with the relentless violence in Iraq. Former US secretary of state James Baker is leading a review of the situation in Iraq by a bipartisan US committee of experts, and is expected to recommend a change in US strategy for rebuilding Iraq.
On Tuesday the BBC reported that Baker has said the country is in a "helluva mess." Citing an unnamed close friend, it said Baker added that "there simply weren't any easy solutions".
According to The Los Angeles Times, two options are under consideration in Washington: withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing neighbouring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting. A third possibility had also been discussed - to concentrate on getting stability in Iraq, and stop aiming to establish a democracy there, the BBC reported.
"It's not going to be 'stay the course,'" the Times quoted one participant as saying. "The bottom line is, (current policy) isn't working. There's got to be another way." While Washington is not expected to agree a change of course in Iraq soon, any such decision would clearly have repercussions for Blair.
British troops are on the front line in southern Afghanistan, where Nato has in recent months moved in to relieve US forces, allowing the Pentagon to focus its efforts on violence-scarred Iraq.
Comments
Comments are closed.