Report: Britain tells U.S. it wants to withdraw within a year

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Reuters) — The British military wants to withdraw troops from Iraq within a year, and London wants to focus on the war in Afghanistan, a United States Defense Department official said Tuesday.

British officials told their American counterparts that the British military was “near the breaking point” because of long deployments in Iraq and weak retention of personnel, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

The comments offered a hint that Britain’s military may have a timetable for withdrawal in mind.

“It’s about a year, give or take a few months,” the official said.

But another United States official at the Pentagon played down the withdrawal issue, and no comment was available from Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labor government.

British discussions about troop levels were part of regular, internal military reviews, said this official, who also asked to not be identified, adding that the British government had not approached senior United States officials with adjustment plans or timetables.

On Sunday, Defense Secretary Des Browne said that Britain was “quite far down” the road toward transferring responsibility for security in Iraq to Iraqi forces but that British troops would leave only when the job was done.

About 7,200 British troops are based in southern Iraq. Mr. Blair has been President Bush’s closest ally over Iraq.

Read the rest at the NY Times

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Top UK Commander: Britain must quit Iraq 'soon'