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British General Comments Spark Early Iraq Pullout Talk
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&c=657366&l=1009&ctl=14655AF:A6F02AD83191E1609A6BF300A51D89029574F7DCC14957C0 Britain's army
chief says what he meant was phased withdrawal over two or three years





British troops patrol Basra, Iraq, October 13, 2006

Britain's top army chief tried Friday to soften his earlier remarks
given to a newspaper in which he called for British troops to be
withdrawn "soon" from Iraq.

Clarifying his comments made to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, Sir
Richard Dannatt has appeared to back down from his speedy withdrawal
comments.  He had told the paper that British troops exacerbate
security problems in Iraq and they should be pulled out sometime soon.

Britain's army chief now says what he meant was a phased withdrawal
over two or three years and he also stressed that he was not at all
attacking government policy.

To bolster this point, he underlined that British forces will remain
in Iraq until the job is done.

Meanwhile, his comments have sparked a wave of reaction. Former
Conservative Defense Secretary Malcolm Rifkind says what General
Dannatt said is what the vast majority of Britons agree with.

Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell says Tony Blair's
government should listen to the general.

Currently, just over 7,000 British forces are based in southern Iraq,
most of them around the city of Basra.


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