LONDON, March 7: Britain plans to pull out nearly all its soldiers from Iraq by the summer of 2008, with the first withdrawals within weeks, a top military commander said in an interview published on Tuesday. Lt Gen Nick Houghton, Britain’s most senior officer in Iraq, outlined a phased two-year withdrawal plan in the interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“There is a fine line between staying too long and leaving too soon,” he was quoted as saying.
“A military transition over two years has a reasonable chance of avoiding the pitfalls of overstaying our welcome but gives us the best opportunity of consolidating the Iraqi security forces.”
Britain has given no date for the withdrawal of its 8,000 troops in Iraq, based in and around the southern port of Basra and Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, asked about the interview, repeated that no firm timetable existed.—Reuters
