shevaub
09-11-2007, 12:05 PM
Britain's approach to withdrawing troops from Iraq would not be changed following an upbeat assessment from the US commander, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman insisted Tuesday.
Brown had "cordial and constructive " talks with US President George W. Bush following the report to Congress on Monday by General David Petraeus.
His report was discussed by the British cabinet on Tuesday, following an assessment by Defence Secretary Des Browne, who had talks Monday with his US counterpart.
"We will work very closely with them, but our decision on troops in Basra will be based on an assessment on the ground and the readiness of the Iraqi security forces," said the spokesman.
Petraeus on Monday told US lawmakers the troop surge in Iraq was working and numbers could be reduced from December, but warned that a large-scale withdrawal would be "devastating."
Brown and his predecessor Tony Blair refused to set a timetable for withdrawing British troops from Iraq, insisting only conditions on the ground could determine when the time was right.
Over the next four weeks, some 500 soldiers are set to leave Britain's last remaining base in Iraq, Basra Air Station outside the southern oil port city, bringing numbers down to 5,000.
"We are working very closely with the Americans," said Brown's spokesman.
"The prime minister had a lengthy discussion with President Bush yesterday in one of their regular video conferences.
"The decision in relation to our troops in Basra will be based on an assessment by our military commanders of the situation on the ground.
"The general approach being taken by the US and the UK is entirely consistent. Conditions in the south are different from those elsewhere."
Brown is set to make a statement to parliament on Iraq on October 8.
Britain's forces are in security control of the wider Basra province. Its troops in southern Iraq are transferring from combat to overwatch duties as they gradually hand over control to Iraqi forces.
The 169th British soldier to die in Iraq since the March 2003 US-led invasion was killed last week during a routine operation.
A Foreign Office spokesman told AFP following the Petraeus report: "There's no change to the UK government's policy."
"The UK government's position has been made clear and has been set out by the prime ministers over many years," he said.
"As the prime minister said, we continue to have obligations to discharge and decisions on our troop levels are dictated by conditions on the ground.
"It's always been case that ourselves and the US have sought to build up the capacity of the Iraqi security forces to the point where they can manage the situation themselves, and of course the situation varies in different parts of the country.
"In the south, we've been able to hand over control of a number of provinces to Iraqi forces.
"As General Petraeus was saying yesterday, the work is continuing to do that in the Baghdad area.
Brown had "cordial and constructive " talks with US President George W. Bush following the report to Congress on Monday by General David Petraeus.
His report was discussed by the British cabinet on Tuesday, following an assessment by Defence Secretary Des Browne, who had talks Monday with his US counterpart.
"We will work very closely with them, but our decision on troops in Basra will be based on an assessment on the ground and the readiness of the Iraqi security forces," said the spokesman.
Petraeus on Monday told US lawmakers the troop surge in Iraq was working and numbers could be reduced from December, but warned that a large-scale withdrawal would be "devastating."
Brown and his predecessor Tony Blair refused to set a timetable for withdrawing British troops from Iraq, insisting only conditions on the ground could determine when the time was right.
Over the next four weeks, some 500 soldiers are set to leave Britain's last remaining base in Iraq, Basra Air Station outside the southern oil port city, bringing numbers down to 5,000.
"We are working very closely with the Americans," said Brown's spokesman.
"The prime minister had a lengthy discussion with President Bush yesterday in one of their regular video conferences.
"The decision in relation to our troops in Basra will be based on an assessment by our military commanders of the situation on the ground.
"The general approach being taken by the US and the UK is entirely consistent. Conditions in the south are different from those elsewhere."
Brown is set to make a statement to parliament on Iraq on October 8.
Britain's forces are in security control of the wider Basra province. Its troops in southern Iraq are transferring from combat to overwatch duties as they gradually hand over control to Iraqi forces.
The 169th British soldier to die in Iraq since the March 2003 US-led invasion was killed last week during a routine operation.
A Foreign Office spokesman told AFP following the Petraeus report: "There's no change to the UK government's policy."
"The UK government's position has been made clear and has been set out by the prime ministers over many years," he said.
"As the prime minister said, we continue to have obligations to discharge and decisions on our troop levels are dictated by conditions on the ground.
"It's always been case that ourselves and the US have sought to build up the capacity of the Iraqi security forces to the point where they can manage the situation themselves, and of course the situation varies in different parts of the country.
"In the south, we've been able to hand over control of a number of provinces to Iraqi forces.
"As General Petraeus was saying yesterday, the work is continuing to do that in the Baghdad area.