Britain to pull 1,000 troops from Iraq

[rodeodance]

Source: ap




Britain to pull 1,000 troops from Iraq

By DAVID STRINGER, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago

BASRA, Iraq - Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Tuesday that he was slashing the remaining British contingent in Iraq by nearly 20 percent. A beleaguered Iraqi leader said his own forces would be ready to take up the slack in the country's oil-rich southernmost province in two months.

.........

The roadways are a vital lifeline for U.S. forces. And everything that the Americans can't fly out of the country when they eventually leave must make the long and potentially dangerous road journey to Kuwait through Basra province.

Brown is said to be contemplating early elections in Britain, where the war is deeply unpopular. He arrived in Baghdad midmorning and went straight into a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Nouri al-Maliki.

"We are prepared to take over security of Basra within two months and we will," al-Maliki said after the meeting in his Green Zone office. "Basra will be one of the provinces where Iraqi forces will completely take over security."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071002/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070928172891;_ylt=AtSFv7qbGivvLtWNYJVTCPOMwfIE

[BooScout]

1. Half of the were already coming home........

And the other half hadn't even left for Iraq yet according to Jeremy Paxton. Sound's like Gordon is needing a little good publicity.:eyes:

[T_i_B]

3. He is in need of good publicity

I think half the purpose of this was to upstage the Conservative party conference, and then there is the matter of the next election. The rumours are of a snap election next month so that Labour can keep their majority up while the polls are high due to Tony Blair going and somebody different coming in.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Gordon is the past master at announcing things twice, or even 3 times

His Budgets had to be analysed minutely to find the truth, rather than the soundbites in his speech he wanted on the news.

[Harmonicaman]

2. Snap Election on the cards

So he and the other Scots MP's can continue to exercise their double voting rights in Parliament.
At best all we can get a much reduced majority for the New Labour War-Mongering Hypocrites, and maybe a few right wing extremists will pick up one or two seats to really shake things up a bit.

It would be worth it just to watch their PC bullshit finally blow up in their faces - when you sow the seeds of discontent by pandering to a minority section of society at the local government level, its only a matter of time before it comes back to bite you in the backside at the national level.