British foreign secretary arrives in Iraq on unannounced visit
LONDON British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett arrived in Baghdad Monday on an unannounced visit to Iraq, the Foreign Office said.
Beckett, on her first trip to the country since taking up the foreign minister post in May, said she planned to hold talks about security and economic development with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other political leaders.
She also planned to meet U.S. and British officials, a Foreign Office spokesman said.
"We do not underestimate the challenges ahead," Beckett said in a statement. "But we must not forget the progress made in the last 12 months in bringing the first democratically elected national unity government to the country, with a constitution voted for by the people.
"This government has made a good start over the past three months. Continued hard work and determination is required to help build a stable and peaceful future for Iraq."
Iraq continues to be wracked by violence, much of it sectarian killing targeting civilians. Iraq's Health Ministry said there were almost 1,000 violent deaths in August — three-quarters of them civilians. That was down from the 3,500 deaths reported in July, the highest monthly figure recorded since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
Britain has about 7,000 troops in Iraq, most based around Basra in the south. Two died Monday in a roadside bombing, bringing the number of British personnel to have died since the 2003 invasion to 117.
British officials have repeatedly spoken of handing over control to Iraqi forces in 2007 and have said British forces in the country could be cut to between 3,000 and 4,000 by mid-2007.
However, Britain's top military officer, Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, said in an interview published in The Guardian newspaper Monday that the figure represented a "hope" — and previous hopes about Iraq had not been fulfilled.
Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune
Beckett, on her first trip to the country since taking up the foreign minister post in May, said she planned to hold talks about security and economic development with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other political leaders.
She also planned to meet U.S. and British officials, a Foreign Office spokesman said.
"We do not underestimate the challenges ahead," Beckett said in a statement. "But we must not forget the progress made in the last 12 months in bringing the first democratically elected national unity government to the country, with a constitution voted for by the people.
"This government has made a good start over the past three months. Continued hard work and determination is required to help build a stable and peaceful future for Iraq."
Iraq continues to be wracked by violence, much of it sectarian killing targeting civilians. Iraq's Health Ministry said there were almost 1,000 violent deaths in August — three-quarters of them civilians. That was down from the 3,500 deaths reported in July, the highest monthly figure recorded since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
Britain has about 7,000 troops in Iraq, most based around Basra in the south. Two died Monday in a roadside bombing, bringing the number of British personnel to have died since the 2003 invasion to 117.
British officials have repeatedly spoken of handing over control to Iraqi forces in 2007 and have said British forces in the country could be cut to between 3,000 and 4,000 by mid-2007.
However, Britain's top military officer, Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, said in an interview published in The Guardian newspaper Monday that the figure represented a "hope" — and previous hopes about Iraq had not been fulfilled.
Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune
posted by iraqnam at 2:55 PM
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