BRITAIN is preparing to hand over control of Basra to the Iraqi army as early as next month, sparking renewed claims from the US that the British are preparing to “cut and run”.
The Iraqi army is on course to take control of Basra province by the autumn with October seen as the earliest point at which it would be ready, according to Whitehall officials.
It could allow Gordon Brown to announce the handover in his widely anticipated statement on Iraq to the Commons when MPs return from the summer recess.
The handover would enable most of the 5,500 British soldiers to leave Iraq, although negotiations are under way to base some troops in Kuwait.
LSB: Now we're bullying and insulting our coalition partners? Is that the most effective means to maintaining alliances? Gordon Brown is not the lapdog Tony Blair was, and after five years of sacrifice the British have said 'enough is enough.' Brown promised to get the British troops out of Iraq and he's doing it. Let's hope our Democrative brethren (and sisters) will take heed, find a spine, and get the U.S. out of there as well. Seems Bush's friend, Australian PM John Howard, is going to keep his 1500 troops there for a bit longer, as securing an oil supply is a key factor behind Austalia's further involvement. (And just in case anyone is doing the math, that's 160,000 U.S. troops, 5500 British troops and 1500 Australian troops in Iraq - not exactly any type of balance in the coalition; more than 1 million Iraqis - about 4% of their population - are dead and millions more have been sought refuge across the borders in Jordan and Syria. So are Iraqis better off today than they were under Saddam? After spending more than $400 BILLION on this war - and BILLIONS more planned - and with 3000+ war dead and tens of thousands wounded, is the U.S. more secure than when this travesty began? What has this sacrifice actually achieved for us?)
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