INES TABUSSO
00mercoledì 21 febbraio 2007 11:28
THE GUARDIAN
Wednesday February 21, 2007
Iraq: the British endgame
· 1,000 troops out by May, all gone by end of 2008
· Pace of pullout much slower than anticipated
Richard Norton-Taylor
All British troops will be pulled out of Iraq by the end of 2008, starting with the withdrawal of 1,000 in the early summer, the Guardian has learned.
Tony Blair is to announce the moves - the result of months of intense debate in Whitehall - within 24 hours, possibly later today, according to officials.
The prime minister is expected to say that Britain intends to gradually reduce the number of troops in southern Iraq over the next 22 months as Iraqi forces take on more responsibility for the security of Basra and the surrounding areas.
Ministers have taken on board the message coming from military chiefs over many months - namely that the presence of British troops on the streets of Basra is increasingly unnecessary, even provocative. The reduction of just 1,000 by early summer cited by officials yesterday is significantly less than anticipated in reports that British troops in southern Iraq, presently totalling 7,200, would be cut by half by May.
A more cautious reduction may reflect concern expressed by the Iraqi and US governments about British intentions. The US has privately admonished Britain claiming it is interested only in Basra. British ministers and officials say the situation in the Shia-dominated south cannot be compared to Baghdad, which is plagued by Sunni-Shia sectarian violence.
Under the plan due to be outlined by Mr Blair, British troops will gradually move into a single base on the outskirts of Basra. They will continue to take part in operations but in a role supporting Iraqi security forces rather than leading them, according to defence officials.
They will also continue operating long range desert patrols in Maysan province, north of Basra, along the border with Iran - a mission pressed on Britain by the US which says it is concerned about the smuggling of weapons from Iran. By the end of next year, all but a few army instructors will have left the country.
Military commanders insist they are encouraged by evidence that the Iraqi army and even local police are now able to maintain order in southern Iraq. As evidence of progress, Britain yesterday handed over control of an Iraqi army division based in Basra in what it called "a significant step towards Iraqi forces taking responsibility for security in the city".
For the first time the Iraqi army's 10th division, trained by British troops, will take orders from Iraqi military headquarters in Baghdad. Until now, it has been under British control. Major General Jonathan Shaw, British commander in southern Iraq, signed a memorandum of understanding with General Abdul Lateef Thu'ban, the 10th division commander.
British defence officials also say they have been encouraged by the role played by Iraqi forces in Operation Sinbad, a winter-long campaign designed to root out criminals and supporters of Shia militia from the Basra police force. In last week's Operation Troy, Iraqi and British forces sealed the city of Basra and set up checkpoints at border crossings with Iran.
Mr Blair gave an upbeat message when interviewed on Sunday AM on BBC1. "It is absolutely true, as we have said for months, that as the Iraqis are more capable in Basra of taking control of their own security we will scale down. But you've got to make sure you have sufficient forces in support and in reserve to be able to help the Iraqis if a problem arises," he said.
Yesterday a bomb destroyed a truck carrying chlorine north of Baghdad, killing at least five people and spewing toxic fumes that left 140 others ill, Iraqi police said. It was not immediately clear if the blast was caused by a roadside bomb or if the truck was rigged with explosives as a makeshift chemical gas bomb.
In Baghdad, a suicide bomber and two car bombs killed at least 17 yesterday and police said 20 unidentified bodies were found on Monday, a spike in the daily toll after a marked reduction since the start of a US-backed security crackdown.
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CORRIERE DELLA SERA
21 febbraio 2007
Blair annuncia l'inizio del ritiro dall'Iraq
Il premier inglese ha anticipato la decisione a Bush con un telefonata
Un primo contingente di 1.500 militari lascerà il paese.
on è escluso un rallentamento della partenza se la situazione peggiora
ROMA - Il primo ministro britannico Tony Blair annuncia oggi l'inizio del ritiro, nelle prossime settimane, di migliaia di soldati britannici dall'Iraq. Lo hanno reso noto in nottata i media di Londra, e lo stesso Blair ha anticipato la notizia con una telefonata a Bush, conversazione confermata dalla stessa Casa Bianca. Fonti del ministero della difesa inglese non hanno tuttavia escluso un rallentamento della partenza delle truppe se la situazione sul campo peggiorerà. Blair, secondo il quotidiano The Sune la Bbc online, informerà il Parlamento che un primo contingente di 1.500 militari lascerà l'Iraq e dovrebbe rientrare in Gran Bretagna nel giro di qualche settimana, mentre un altro, della stessa consistenza, verrebbe rimpatriato entro Natale. Attualmente la Gran Bretagna ha 7.100 militari in Iraq, il contingente più numeroso dopo quello statunitense.
CONFERMA USA - La conferma dell'intenzione del premier inglese di avviare un primo ritiro delle truppe è giunta anche da Washington. Il portavoce del Consiglio per la Sicurezza Nazionale della Casa Bianca, Gordon Johndroe, ha riferito che - in una conversazione telefonica - Blair ha informato il presidente Usa George W. Bush. Nei giorni scorsi un portavoce del ministero della difesa britannico aveva dichiarato che Londra intendeva restare «impegnata» in Iraq, finché sarà necessario, mentre altre fonti del dicastero - citate in forma anonima dalla Bbc online- ritengono che il ritiro sia «leggermente più lento del previsto e che se le condizioni peggioreranno il processo potrebbe essere ulteriormente rallentato«. Nel confermare che Blair ha informato Bush prima di annunciare l'inizio del ritiro in Parlamento, il portavoce della Casa Bianca ha confermato che gli Usa non hanno l'intenzione di fare una mossa analoga, ricordando che il presidente ha recentemente deciso di inviare altri 21.500 militari in Iraq. «Gli Stati Uniti sono grati alla Gran Bretagna per il contributo che ha dato in Iraq, e condividiamo con loro la volontà di consegnare progressivamente alle forze armate irachene il controllo del territorio«, ha dichiarato Johndroe.