The BBC and NBC are reporting at this hour that Tony Blair will be withdrawing 1500 troops from Basra within weeks, and that he wants 3000 of their 7700 troops out of Iraq by the end of 2007, if security warrants it. According to the BBC, Blair told Bush of this revised timeline just this morning.
The Poodle is getting 1500 troops out as soon as possible, before Bush can do anything stupid with Iran, since those Basra troops would be the first sitting ducks in any retaliation.
Update: The Financial Times is reporting that the initial withdrawal over the next several weeks is actually 1600 troops, down to a level of 5500 within months, and that Blair will have all British forces retreat back to their barracks in Basra and a nearby base now. This paves the way for the Iraqis to take over in the south, where insurgent and Al Qaeda activity is very low. And yes, this is the area where Iran has the most influence, yet Bush is targeting them. But Blair is getting his troops back to their bases over the next several weeks.
2 comments:
Now no more UK soldiers will have to get killed or put in harms way. Tony Blair is out and the UK will not follow Bush. Now our troops will be the only ones to die. Our Dictator and GOP could care less about our troops dying. As we can see from the lack of care their getting in Walter Reed while living with mice and roaches for doing a great job for the United States.
Now with a second new aircraft carrier in the Gulf since Chimp has been threatening Iran, the UK is getting smart to the Chimp, they want out before this becomes a bigger disaster than it already is.
Post a Comment