British leaving Iraq because staying is not an option

[ProSense]

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Blair to Draw Down British Troops

Tony Blair is taking 1600 troops out of Basra in the next few months and will aim to be down to only 3,000 or so (from 7,100 now) by the end of the year. Denmark is also going home.

This is a rout, there should be no mistake. The fractious Shiite militias and tribes of Iraq's South have made it impossible for the British to stay. They already left Sadr-controlled Maysan province, as well as sleepy Muthanna. They moved the British consulate to the airport because they couldn't protect it in Basra. They are taking mortar and rocket fire at their bases every night. Raiding militia HQs has not resulted in any permanent change in the situation. Basra is dominated by 4 paramilitaries, who are fighting turf wars with one another and with the Iraqi government over oil smuggling rights.

Blair is not leaving Basra because the British mission has been accomplished. He is leaving because he has concluded that it cannot be, and that if he tries any further it will completely sink the Labor Party, perhaps for decades to come.

[Demeter]

1. British Leaving Because Blair Is NOT a Total Idiot

unlike some we could mention....

[Labors of Hercules]

2. And the Administrations spin on it will REALLY make you laugh...

--- Cheney slams Iraq plan advocated by Dems...

In the interview, Cheney also said Britain's plans to withdraw about 1,600 troops from Iraq — while the United States adds more troops — was a positive step. "I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," the vice president said.

I think Nancy Pelosi's response says it all...

As for Cheney's assertion that the partial British pullout is a sign that things are going well in Iraq, Pelosi said: "If it's going so well, we'd like to withdraw our troops as well."

YEAH, WHY DON'T WE??

[ProSense]

3. Petagon report contradicts WH on UK troop withdrawal

Pentagon’s Iraq Report Contradicts White House’s Rosy Rhetoric on U.K. Troop Withdrawals

Yesterday, administration officials were spinning the announcement that U.K. troops would be withdrawing from Iraq as a sign of progress. “I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well,” Vice President Cheney told ABC News. Tony Snow added: “The fact that have made some progress on the ground is going to enable them to move some of the forces out, and that’s ultimately the kind of thing that we want to be able to see throughout Iraq.”

In a “Setting the Record Straight” release, the White House claimed the British pulled their troops “based on the conditions on the ground.” But the Los Angeles Times reports that the Pentagon’s latest quarterly report on Iraq contradicts these claims:

Snip...

Cofused by their own lies.