Feb 8, 11:04 PM (ET)
LONDON (AP) - Foreign troops will face more opposition and not less in Iraq when the decision is made to begin a withdrawal from the country, a British army commander said Thursday.
Popular consent for the troop presence would likely quickly erode as soldiers prepared to leave. said Lt. Col. James Hopkinson, head of Britain's Basra City Battle Group.
Some British troops may be able to withdraw by year's end depending on the Iraqi government's ability to control security, British defense secretary John Reid said Tuesday.
Speaking in a British Broadcasting Corp. radio documentary "Desert Rats' Diary - The British Army in Basra," Hopkinson spoke of the difficulties of the start of a withdrawal.
"I think it will become particularly difficult as we begin to try to disengage and persuade the Iraqis that they are now in a position (where) they have their own destiny in their own hands," Hopkinson said.
"It becomes more and more difficult for ourselves to be here. You almost move from being part of the solution to becoming part of the problem."
Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq, based mainly in the southern city of Basra and in neighboring provinces.
Reid said Tuesday that any draw down of British troops in Iraq depended on "a manageable level of threat from insurgents," more capable Iraqi security forces and a stronger Iraqi government.
"If, and only if, these conditions are met and if things in Iraq continue to progress as they are, there will be significantly fewer British forces there by next year," he said.
LONDON (AP) - Foreign troops will face more opposition and not less in Iraq when the decision is made to begin a withdrawal from the country, a British army commander said Thursday.
Popular consent for the troop presence would likely quickly erode as soldiers prepared to leave. said Lt. Col. James Hopkinson, head of Britain's Basra City Battle Group.
Some British troops may be able to withdraw by year's end depending on the Iraqi government's ability to control security, British defense secretary John Reid said Tuesday.
Speaking in a British Broadcasting Corp. radio documentary "Desert Rats' Diary - The British Army in Basra," Hopkinson spoke of the difficulties of the start of a withdrawal.
"I think it will become particularly difficult as we begin to try to disengage and persuade the Iraqis that they are now in a position (where) they have their own destiny in their own hands," Hopkinson said.
"It becomes more and more difficult for ourselves to be here. You almost move from being part of the solution to becoming part of the problem."
Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq, based mainly in the southern city of Basra and in neighboring provinces.
Reid said Tuesday that any draw down of British troops in Iraq depended on "a manageable level of threat from insurgents," more capable Iraqi security forces and a stronger Iraqi government.
"If, and only if, these conditions are met and if things in Iraq continue to progress as they are, there will be significantly fewer British forces there by next year," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment