UK 'may start Iraq pullout in '06' (Reuters) Updated: 2005-11-15 01:27
Britain could start pulling its soldiers out of Iraq next year if local
forces are strong enough to keep the peace, Prime Minister Tony Blair said on
Monday.
"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," Blair told reporters after talks with Iraqi Vice
President Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Blair said there was no question of British troops quitting Iraq before local
security services could act on their own but said the buildup of Iraqi forces
was gathering pace.
"This is a completely different situation from a year ago," he said at his
Downing Street residence. "As that progresses, obviously the need for the
multinational force reduces...but it's a question of that happening when the job
is done.
"It's always been part of our plan to withdraw when the Iraqis are capable of
looking after their own security."
Signs of a developing timetable are growing. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
said on Sunday British troops could leave the country within a year because
Iraqi security forces would be ready to replace them.
Mahdi, talking to reporters with Blair, echoed that assessment. "I think we
will see a process next year for a certain, partial withdrawal," he said.
Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq, stationed mainly in the south. The
area had been more stable than some other regions but violence has risen there
in the last few months.
British Defense Secretary John Reid said any plans to hand over to Iraqi
security forces would be dictated by events on the ground and continued attacks
by insurgents would only delay the process.
But he, too, expected some British troops to 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," Reid told BBC Radio.
Iraqis are working on training their own soldiers and
police to take full control of security of their country and fight a Sunni Arab
insurgency that has killed thousands of people since 2003's U.S.-led
invasion.
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