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All British soldiers to be out of Iraq in 12 months
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 05/03/2006)
All British and United States troops serving in Iraq will be withdrawn within a year in an effort to bring peace and stability to the country.
The news came as defence chiefs admitted privately that the British troop commitment in Afghanistan may last for up to 10 years.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2006/03/05/wirq05.jpg
Iraq’s national defence force will assume responsibility for securityThe planned pull-out from Iraq follows the acceptance by London and Washington that the presence of the coalition, mainly composed of British and US troops, is now seen as the main obstacle to peace.
According to a senior defence source directly involved in planning the withdrawal, Britain is the driving force behind the scheme. The early spring of next year has been identified as the optimum time for the start of the complex and dangerous operation.
The source explained that troop numbers were expected to decrease slightly over the next 12 months but that the bulk of British and American forces, who make up 138,000 of the coalition’s 153,000 troops, would be withdrawn simultaneously.
The British and American military had hoped to begin removing their forces from Iraq this year but those plans were shelved because of worsening security and the failure of both Sunni and Shia leaders to form a government of national unity.
The source added that the British Army had still not recovered - in terms of training and intervals between operational tours - from the war in Iraq almost three years ago.
In recent months, both the US and British governments have both come under sustained pressure to name a date when the coalition will begin the withdrawal of forces.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/essentials/iraq_fact_puff.gif is now part of the problem. That is a situation which is now accepted by both governments. We are viewed as an occupation force even though, at the moment, we are in Iraq at the invitation of the government.
“Every time we go out on patrol we run the risk of drawing fire and taking unnecessary casualties. The security situation will not improve in the short term, whether we are in Iraq or not.”
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said there was no fixed date for a withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq.