Blair To Withdraw More Troops From Iraq
Posted February 21, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The number of British troops in Iraq will decrease substantially in the months to come, according to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The PM plans to withdraw 1,600 troops from the country in the short term with the goal of cutting the military presence to less than 5,000 soldiers by the summer. The plan is dependent on Iraqi forces taking control of the country’s south.
“The actual reduction in forces will be from the present 7,100 — itself down from over 9,000 two years ago and 40,000 at the time of the (start of the) conflict — to roughly 5,500,” Blair said, adding that “increasingly our role will be support and training, and our numbers will be able to reduce accordingly.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reportedly supports the reduction.
Other coalition forces are also looking at withdrawing their troops – Denmark plans to remove its 460 forces by August, while Lithuania is reportedly considering pulling out as well.
The U.S., meanwhile, is looking at sending 21,000 more troops to the country, mainly near the capital. President George W. Bush spoke with Blair about the withdrawal, and according to U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Gordon Johndroe he’s all for the move.
“While the United Kingdom is maintaining a robust force in southern Iraq, we’re pleased that conditions in Basra have improved sufficiently that they are able to transition more control to the Iraqis,” Johndroe said.
Other countries playing a major role in the war include South Korea, Poland, Australia, Georgia, and Romania. It’s unclear what those countries’ plans are in terms of a future commitment.
A look at the size of military contingents in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq:
ALBANIA: 120 non-combat troops, mainly patrolling airport in Mosul; no plans to withdraw.
ARMENIA: 46 soldiers, serving as medics, engineers and transport drivers, serving under Polish command; mission extended to end of 2007.
AUSTRALIA: 550 troops helping to train security forces in two southern Iraqi provinces.
AZERBAIJAN: 150 troops, mostly serving as sentries, on patrols and protecting a dam near city of Hadid; no plans to withdraw.
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Bosnia has 36 soldiers in Iraq, including three teams of 10 officers and a command team of six.
BRITAIN: 7,100 troops in southern Iraq; Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans Wednesday to reduce the force by 1,600 in the coming months.
BULGARIA: 155 troops, including 120 non-combat troops guarding a refugee camp north of Baghdad and 35 support personnel.
CZECH REPUBLIC: 99 troops.
DENMARK: 460 troops patrolling Basra; to be withdrawn by August.
EL SALVADOR: 380 soldiers doing peacekeeping and humanitarian work in Hillah; no immediate plans to withdraw.
ESTONIA: 35 troops serving under U.S. command in the Baghdad area.
GEORGIA: About 900 combat forces, medics and support personnel serving under U.S. command in Baqouba; no plans to withdraw or reduce contingent.
KAZAKHSTAN: 27 military engineers; no plans to withdraw.
LATVIA: 125 troops are serving under Polish command in Diwaniyah.
LITHUANIA: 60 troops are part of a Danish battalion near Basra.
MACEDONIA: 40 troops there, 35 soldiers and 5 officers, in Taji, 70 kilometres north of Baghdad.
MOLDOVA: 11 bomb defusing experts returned home at the end of January; parliament has not yet decided on sending a new mission.
MONGOLIA: 160 troops; no plans to withdraw.
NETHERLANDS: 15 soldiers as part of NATO mission training police, army officers; no plans to withdraw.
POLAND: 900 non-combat troops; commands multinational force south of Baghdad; mission extended to end of 2007.
ROMANIA: about 600 troops, most serving in the south under British command, with the rest — a few dozen military intelligence officers — serving north of Baghdad; Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu wants them withdrawn.
SLOVENIA: Four instructors training Iraqi security forces.
SOUTH KOREA: 2,300 troops in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil; plans to bring home 1,100 by April and parliament insists on a plan for a complete withdrawal by end of 2007.
