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Britain to reduce number of troops stationed in Iraq

British forces in Iraq are preparing to withdraw their remaining troops to the airport base in Basra in the south of the country next month, handing over control of the last province they control to Iraqi forces.

If their most optimistic forecasts are realized, only 1,500 British troops will remain in the country by the end of the year, defense officials said yesterday.

The government is expected to outline details of the troop withdrawals this week. Troop numbers will be cut by 500 to 5,000 as 4 Mechanised Brigade becomes the lead brigade from September.

The reductions would free up soldiers for Afghanistan.

The UK government faced new pressure last night over its Iraq strategy with the publication of a report by the cross-party Iraq Commission that adds to the pressure for troops to be withdrawn once they have trained Iraqi forces.

The report said: "The current policy has stalled, has no clear end point and the objectives and length of time for over-watch [the current military approach] are unclear. The policy also effectively cedes decision-making on drawdown to the insurgents."

Paddy Ashdown, one of the commission's three cochairs, said Britain and the US should scale back their political ambitions to one clear aim: maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq.

An international conference, involving Iraq's neighbors and the five permanent members of the UN security council, should be called to guarantee Iraq's borders, Ashdown argued.
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