Britain to withdraw 1,600 troops; Denmark to withdraw 460

Above: British tanks on patrol in Basra today.

LONDON, Feb. 21 — In sharp contrast to the American troop buildup in Baghdad, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that Britain will withdraw up to 1,600 of its roughly 7,100 British troops in southern Iraq in the next few months.

Around 460 Danish soldiers under British command in southern Iraq will also be withdrawn by August, the government in Copenhagen said today.

“What all this means is not that Basra is how we want it to be,” Mr. Blair said, “but it does mean that the next chapter in Basra’s history can be written by Iraqis.”

Read the rest at the NY Times

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