Home by May: 2,000 British troops to withdraw from Iraq

Britain plans to begin withdrawing 2,000 troops from Iraq, starting this spring, according to a secret blueprint agreed with allies
By Francis Elliott, Raymond Whitaker and Marie Woolf
Published: 05 February 2006

Britain plans to begin withdrawing 2,000 troops from Iraq, starting this spring, according to a secret blueprint agreed with allies.
The pull-out plan would see an initial 500 British troops depart from southern Iraq by the end of May, a Whitehall source confirmed. By the end of the year, under a schedule revealed at a meeting of military commanders and diplomats last month, Britain intends to withdraw up to 2,000 soldiers - a quarter of its total force in Iraq.

The US is understood to have approved the proposal in principle, as long as there are no significant upheavals in Iraq's political process and security condition.
This first signal of a pull-out from Iraq will be welcomed by military commanders, who believe little can be gained by maintaining a significant presence much longer. "We will have achieved pretty much all we can by this summer," a senior military source told The Independent on Sunday, although he emphasised that some British troops would remain in the country for years to come.

The British deployment in Iraq has dragged on, with the number of military deaths rising above 100 last week. Former military chiefs spoke to The Independent on Sunday yesterday, increasing demands for a pull-out. "The longer we stay there, the more we become part of the problem and not the solution," said Field Marshal Lord Brammall, former chief of defence staff. "I have always thought we should go sooner rather than later."

Air Marshal Sir Tim Garden, former assistant chief of defence staff, said: "What we need is to draw up a set of targets for withdrawal. The timescale we would want to see for a draw-down of occupying forces is longer than nine months and less than a year."
It is understood that the final aim is for Britain to maintain no more than a training element for local security forces in south-eastern Iraq, based well away from areas such as Basra.

But a military source said: "There is no question of Britain formally announcing a complete withdrawal from Iraq any time in the foreseeable future. Numbers will be simply be run down. We still have a few hundred troops in Bosnia, more than 10 years after the war ended."
A Whitehall source confirmed that a meeting was held in London on 23 January between Britain, the US, Australia and Japan to co-ordinate troop withdrawals from Iraq. Most of the Australian and Japanese troops in the country are in the four provinces of south-eastern Iraq which are under British command.

Adam Price MP, a leading critic of the Government's policies in Iraq, who helped to expose the secret blueprint, feared a partial withdrawal could simply expose the remaining troops to more danger. "The experience of Afghanistan teaches us the dangers of these so-called staged withdrawals," he said. "A reduced force is left incapable of delivering security to either themselves or the Iraqis while leaving the insurgents with a symbolic target."

The Secretary of State for Defence, John Reid, is set to make a keynote speech on Iraq on Tuesday in which he is likely to hint at the start of a pull-out. British defence chiefs are expected to hold a meeting in March on troop deployments.

An account of the withdrawal agreement leaked to the Japanese media said the country would begin withdrawing its forces in mid-March, completing its pull-out by the end of May.

The official Japanese response was to deny there was a specific time-frame for the plan, and the Australian defence minister said Canberra was awaiting formal word from Tokyo.

Despite Whitehall efforts to dampen speculation, further reports in the Japanese media still indicate a swift draw-down of British forces.
Britain plans to begin withdrawing 2,000 troops from Iraq, starting this spring, according to a secret blueprint agreed with allies.

The pull-out plan would see an initial 500 British troops depart from southern Iraq by the end of May, a Whitehall source confirmed. By the end of the year, under a schedule revealed at a meeting of military commanders and diplomats last month, Britain intends to withdraw up to 2,000 soldiers - a quarter of its total force in Iraq.

The US is understood to have approved the proposal in principle, as long as there are no significant upheavals in Iraq's political process and security condition.
This first signal of a pull-out from Iraq will be welcomed by military commanders, who believe little can be gained by maintaining a significant presence much longer. "We will have achieved pretty much all we can by this summer," a senior military source told The Independent on Sunday, although he emphasised that some British troops would remain in the country for years to come.

The British deployment in Iraq has dragged on, with the number of military deaths rising above 100 last week. Former military chiefs spoke to The Independent on Sunday yesterday, increasing demands for a pull-out. "The longer we stay there, the more we become part of the problem and not the solution," said Field Marshal Lord Brammall, former chief of defence staff. "I have always thought we should go sooner rather than later."

Air Marshal Sir Tim Garden, former assistant chief of defence staff, said: "What we need is to draw up a set of targets for withdrawal. The timescale we would want to see for a draw-down of occupying forces is longer than nine months and less than a year."

It is understood that the final aim is for Britain to maintain no more than a training element for local security forces in south-eastern Iraq, based well away from areas such as Basra. But a military source said: "There is no question of Britain formally announcing a complete withdrawal from Iraq any time in the foreseeable future. Numbers will be simply be run down. We still have a few hundred troops in Bosnia, more than 10 years after the war ended."

A Whitehall source confirmed that a meeting was held in London on 23 January between Britain, the US, Australia and Japan to co-ordinate troop withdrawals from Iraq. Most of the Australian and Japanese troops in the country are in the four provinces of south-eastern Iraq which are under British command.

Adam Price MP, a leading critic of the Government's policies in Iraq, who helped to expose the secret blueprint, feared a partial withdrawal could simply expose the remaining troops to more danger. "The experience of Afghanistan teaches us the dangers of these so-called staged withdrawals," he said. "A reduced force is left incapable of delivering security to either themselves or the Iraqis while leaving the insurgents with a symbolic target."

The Secretary of State for Defence, John Reid, is set to make a keynote speech on Iraq on Tuesday in which he is likely to hint at the start of a pull-out. British defence chiefs are expected to hold a meeting in March on troop deployments.

An account of the withdrawal agreement leaked to the Japanese media said the country would begin withdrawing its forces in mid-March, completing its pull-out by the end of May.

The official Japanese response was to deny there was a specific time-frame for the plan, and the Australian defence minister said Canberra was awaiting formal word from Tokyo.

Despite Whitehall efforts to dampen speculation, further reports in the Japanese media still indicate a swift draw-down of British forces.

A Message From Iraq Resistance

People of the world! These words come to you from those who up to the day of the invasion were struggling to survive under the sanctions imposed by the criminal regimes of the U.S. and Britain . We are simple people who chose principles over fear.

We have suffered crimes and sanctions, which we consider the true weapons of mass destruction.

Years and years of agony and despair, while the condemned UN traded with our oil revenues in the name of world stability and peace. Over two million innocents died waiting for a light at the end of a tunnel that only ended with the occupation of our country and the theft of our resources.

After the crimes of the administrations of the U.S and Britain in Iraq , we have chosen our future. The future of every resistance struggle ever in the history of man. It is our duty, as well as our right, to fight back the occupying forces, which their nations will be held morally and economically responsible; for what their elected governments have destroyed and stolen from our land. We have not crossed the oceans and seas to occupy Britain or the U.S. nor are we responsible for 9/11.

These are only a few of the lies that these criminals present to cover their true plans for the control of the energy resources of the world, in face of a growing China and a strong unified Europe .

It is Ironic that the Iraqi,s are to bear the full face of this large and growing conflict on behalf of the rest of this sleeping world.

We thank all those, including those of Britain and the U.S. , who took to the streets in protest against this war and against Globalism. We also thank France, Germany and other states for their position, which least to say are considered wise and balanced, til now. Today, we call on you again. We do not require arms or fighters, for we have plenty. We ask you to form a world wide front against war and sanctions. A front that is governed by the wise and knowing.


A front that will bring reform and order. New institutions that would replace the now corrupt

Stop using the U.S. dollar, use the Euro or a basket of currencies. Reduce or halt your consumption of British and U.S. products. Put an end to Zionism before it ends the world.

Educate those in doubt of the true nature of this conflict and do not believe their media for their casualties are far higher than they admit.

We only wish we had more cameras to show the world their true defeat. The enemy is on the run.

They are in fear of a resistance movement they can not see nor predict. We, now choose when, where, and how to strike.

And as our ancestors drew the first sparks of civilization, we will redefine the word 'conquest.' Today we write a new chapter in the arts of urban warfare. Know that by helping the Iraqi people, you are helping yourselves, for tomorrow may bring the same destruction to you. In helping the Iraqi people does not mean dealing for the Americans for a few contracts here and there. You must continue to isolate their strategy. This conflict is no longer considered a localized war. Nor can the world remain hostage to the never-ending and regenerated fear that the American people suffer from in general. We will pin them here in Iraq to drain their resources, manpower, and their will to fight. We will make them spend as much as they steal, if not more. We will disrupt, then halt the flow of our stolen oil, thus, rendering their plans useless. And the earlier a movement is born, the earlier their fall will be. And to the American soldiers we say, you can also choose to fight tyranny with us. Lay down your weapons, and seek refuge in our mosques, churches and homes. We will protect you. And we will get you out of Iraq , as we have done with a few others before you. Go back to your homes, families, and loved ones. This is not your war. Nor are you fighting for a true cause in Iraq . And to George W. Bush, we say, "You have asked us to 'Bring it on', and so have we. Like never expected. Have you another challenge?"