As promised in this morning's papers, Gordon Brown has formally announced the timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq next summer, saying that good progress has been made in the areas of security, democracy and reconstruction in the country.
Iraq will regain full sovereignty on the expiry of UN resolution 1790 on New Year's Day, and as of 31st May there will be a "rapid withdrawal" of the remaining 4,100 British combat troops over the following two months. After 31st July, 400 troops will remain, principally dedicated to naval training.
He also said that the memorial wall to the fallen British servicemen in Basra would be brought to Britain and put in a fitting place.
David Cameron welcomed the statement and joined the Prime Minister in paying tribute to the bravery of our servicemen who have served there, especially the 178 who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Mr Cameron asked that the Government strike a realistic tone over what has been achieved in Iraq, given that "the daily reality for many Iraqis remains dire" and sought reassurances about the Iraqi economic situation and the relationships the country is likely to enjoy with its neighbours over the coming years.
He also reiterated the call made by William Hague at yesterday's PMQs for a full-scale independent inquiry into the conduct and planning of the war. He said that he did not feel that it had to wait until all troops had returned home, since similar inquiries had taken place before in those circumstances and that since 400 troops were remaining in Iraq after July in any case, it could be delayed indefinitely.
Jonathan Isaby
Good. I wonder though if this was really Brown's decision or whether the Iraqi government were pressing for the withdrawal of British troops. Our agreement with them runs out next year.
Either way , the fact that the troops are coming home is good news.
Posted by: Malcolm Dunn | December 18, 2008 at 12:16
Very good news indeed. I hope that David Cameron insists that the inquiry be held without delay and that its terms of reference are wide enough to include a very thorough investigation into the causes of the war - was it in fact legal? - and also in what way the initial intelligence report was altered and on whose orders.
This must not be another Labour whitewash.
This is the very least we can do in honour of all those who died and were wounded, not only British and other allied troops but all the innocent Iraqi victims as well. We deserve to know if Bush and Blair were actually justified or not in involving us in this disastrous war.
Posted by: David Belchamber | December 18, 2008 at 12:40
Is it true that the Gover has chained himself to a radiator in Portcullis House, and is chanting, "Hell no! We musn't go!"? Is there a fund I can contribute to for the relief of pro-Iraq war Conservatives? Will generations yet unborn always think IDS's 2003 silence the finest display of heroic leadership the early C21st has to offer? So many questions for that Inquiry to answer . . .
Posted by: ACT | December 18, 2008 at 13:13
I feel parliament was misled by Blair to make that war happen, so any support it gave him ( if that was the case ), was given him as a result of it being deceived.
I think the enquiry should have already been done on this issue and that Blair should be held accountable for his actions not just for his 'thoughts'.
I'd also like the Dr David Kelly file re-opened.
Posted by: rugfish | December 18, 2008 at 13:59
"Labour's war", and something else that we have been unable to pin on them.
Crass bad judgement by IDS to have supported it.
Posted by: London Tory | December 18, 2008 at 14:05
Under IDS, inside parliament (and outside it, in the shape of camp followers in the press like the Gover) the Conservative party did not support the war after the fact. It advocated it before it happened. The likes of IDS and Gove explicitly urged war upon Blair before he had actually decided upon supporting one himself (and he was hardly slow to come to this position). At the time, they held themselves to be outliers for the position the government eventually adopted, and at the time glorified in being so. They even wrote books praising their own wisdom and foresight in urging the war upon the government. And while he today has Coulson energetically imply the opposite to the goons of the lobby, at no point did Dave actually dissent from this line. Indeed, if you are boring enough to look up his leadership campaign speeches on foreign policy, you will see that he actually reaffirmed his support for the war.
Posted by: ACT | December 18, 2008 at 14:10
as a neo-conservative i believe thiws is the wrong thing to do i u8rge Mr Cameron to Drop this plegde and focus on Afganistan
Posted by: james cullis | December 18, 2008 at 14:38
Conservative foreign policy under David Cameron must be summed up in two clear statements: NO FOREIGN WARS FOR FOREIGN CAUSES and NOT A SINGLE DROP OF BRITISH BLOOD FOR ISRAELI INTERESTS.
Posted by: Conservative Friend of Palestine | December 18, 2008 at 16:46
I don't understand you Conservatives; first you support the Government and send the troops to an illegal war in Iraq and now you want inquiries about the war.
David Cameron now Tory Leader and Boris Johnson now Mayor of London voted for Iraq, so an inquiry will just show that you cant make your mind up after 5 years if you support Iraq or not?
Posted by: Irfan Ahmed | December 18, 2008 at 18:12
Posted by: Irfan Ahmed | December 18, 2008 at 18:12
I supported the Iraq war when Blair said we could be sent a missile from Iraq in 24 hours, and that Saddam Hussein had WMD and biological weapons and refused to stop.
I stopped supporting that when I found out Blair had lied so I suspect the Conservative Party fell for the same lies everyone else did and now want an enquiry for that and a number of other reasons as Blair is hardly likely to admit he lied.
Posted by: rugfish | December 18, 2008 at 18:57
Posted by: rugfish | December 18, 2008 at 18:57
I accept that Blair lied to the general public and the Conservatives, but remember at the time the Lib Dems under Charles Kennedy were against the war and they still are. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess if the people has just listened to the Lib Dems at the time of Iraq.
We might have not been in a deep recession like we are now if people had listened to Vince Cable.
Two major problems and if only the UK listened to the Lib Dems we might not have been in this economic mess or this illegal war!
Posted by: Irfan Ahmed | December 19, 2008 at 09:33