Britain to Downgrade Commitment to Iraq

LONDON -- Thousands of British soldiers will leave Iraq over the next year, significantly downgrading the country's commitment in the region, the defense secretary said Monday. Poland and Italy also announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops.

The reduction of British troops will occur as control of two southern provinces is transferred to Iraqi forces, although Defense Secretary Des Browne insisted that "handover does not mean withdrawal."

"Even when all the provinces are handed over, we will still be providing a force to mentor and back up the Iraqi army and police, and to protect coalition supply routes," he said. "But I can tell you that by the end of next year I expect numbers of British forces in Iraq to be significantly lower _ by a matter of thousands."

Britain has more than 7,000 British troops in Iraq, primarily in the south; At the height of the conflict, there were about 46,000. Browne said the British military presence in Iraq would be determined by officials in London and Baghdad.

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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