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Britain to withdraw troops from Iraq within months: Blair
By Xinhua,
Feb 21, 2007 - 8:05:45 PM
London, Feb 21 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced on Wednesday a plan to cut the number of British troops in Iraq to 5,500 from 7,100 in the next few months.
In a speech in the House of Commons, Blair said the situation in the Iraqi city of Basra where British troops are based is very different from the one in Baghdad, and Basra could now be secured by Iraqis themselves.
The operation of British troops in Iraq had been a success, including removing Saddam Hussein from power, he said. The next chapter in Basra's history would be written by Iraqis themselves, he added.
Meanwhile, senior Whitehall sources told the BBC that the pullout was 'slightly slower' than they had expected and 'if conditions worsen, this process could still slow up.'
Blair's announcement comes just weeks before the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the 2003 Iraq war on March 19 and at the same time as 21,000 more U.S. troops are being sent to Iraq.
The White House confirmed that U.S. President George W. Bush and Blair had discussed the plans on Tuesday. A White House spokesman described Britain's cutbacks 'a sign of success' in Iraq.
But Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said last week that Iraqi forces might not be entirely ready to take over control of the city.
British Conservative party leader David Cameron said he backed the withdrawal, but questions remained to be answered.
Britain needed to know whether the Iraqi forces were ready to take over the security of Basra and whether reduced numbers of British troops would be able to defend themselves against siege, he said. A total of 132 British soldiers have died since the start of Iraq war.
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