UK Set To Withdraw Troops From Iraq

[AB Asks]

Tony Blair has announced that the UK is to withdraw 1,600 troops from Iraq. The troops will be withdrawn if Iraqi forces secure the southern part of the country. More than 130 British troops have dies since the beginning of the Iraqi invasion in 2003. Although a significant step, Britain will maintain a significant presence in the country for the foreseeable future, or "for as long as we are wanted and have a job to do."
Should Britain be taking forces out of Iraq, particularly as America has just the need to send thousands of extra troops over?

[Gromit]

This is the very worst form of spin... ever!

Today they have announced more troops for Afghanistan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6 388717.stm

So infact the result is we have just redeployed and it is reported as our troops are coming home. As most people are against us being in any war in the middle east, this sleight-of-hand is desperately cynical.

[anotheoldgit]

The reason he is taking troops out of Iraq, is so that he can deploy them in Afghanistan ready for the Taliban's Spring offensive.

He has been forced into this situation because we do not have the troop numbers, to carry out his and Bush's disastrous foreign policies. Plus the fact that he as been unable to persuade our NATO allies namely Germany and France to commit their young people into the dangerous southern part of Afghanistan.

If for a change, he thought anything about his own people, he would bring all the troops home to this country now.

[kwicky]

This psychopath should leave office pronto. His last few months in office will be difficult to change. Of course we want our troops home but not a transfer to Afganistan. As though causing islamic violence on our streets is not enough he also wants this country to be a target from rogue nations by installing the USAs missile defence system.

[stokeace]

for gods sake what is wrong with you people?have you forgotten of the atrocities of 9/11 and 7/7 this is a war on terror these soldiers signed up to protect our freedom and whether it means fighting in iraq or afghanistan then so be it they didnt sign up to look good on a parade ground and to pose in uniform as an ex soldier who has served in iraq i can honestly say it is an horrendous experience but it is what we chose to do.to have a comrade killed is like losing one of your own family but you get on with it.it is do gooders like you who give the terrorists the freedom to terrorise get a grip on reality and wake up to the fact that if it wasnt for george bush and tony blair standing up and fighting the taliban and al queada our lives would be in a lot more danger than they already are.i shed a tear when i hear of a soldier being killed in action but believe me it is a situation that every single one of them know they are in and accept that it is their job.it is kill or be killed.i respect every single soldier out there and to for them to hear people like you makes them doubt what they are doing.shut up and let them do their job until the bitter end because that is what they want to do.

[Coldicote]

stokeace - sadly you are right. The televised events of 9/11 and 7/7 should be repeated on TV to remind us all what the fighting is about. Why is the west, especially the USA, apparently so hated by terrorists? Can anyone explain? On the other hand we have thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers coming here looking for a better life.

[bazwillrun]

blair = cynical liar

if we pull every single troop out today, tomorrow or in ten years time it makes no difference to the final outcome in Iraq.
Democracy is just a pap western term being bandied about, civil war is the natural outcome of the events in Iraq.
We should save our troops lives by getting them out now, likewise the USA and all the other troops, and let them fight it out amongst themselves which is what they have wanted all along.
The USA seems incapable of learning a lesson, they got a hiding in Indo-China but still they want to try and dominate and put their versions of how a country should be run on others.
If the USA and UK had any sense they would have saved themselves a lot of bother by hitting Iran in the first place, who are now playing exactly the same game as Saddam did.
Having seen the outcome of being attacked by the USA, Iran is obviously not in the slightest bit worried.

[stokeace]

at last coldicote someone who talks a bit of sense on here.america and indeed the west as a whole is hated so much by the terrorists because they hate us having a civilised life.bazwillrun iraq is a piece of the jigsaw and as soon as they are in a position to rule themselves in a democratic way the us and uk troops will be withdrawn but the main reason and no one should ever doubt it it is to try and supress the terrorists who ARE there and make no mistake iran harbours terrorists as well and it will just be a matter of time before they are taken to task the situation in afghanistan is dire as the taliban are inevitably gathering force.if we pull troops out now it will give the terrorists the scope to plan and carry out another atrocity the next time you can guarantee it will be a nuclear warhead that is deployed or a biological weapon that will kill millions.is that really an option?i think not.

[maxximus]

i know it's off the topic of the question, but i'd be interested in stokeace and coldicote's thoughts? being as they both brought it up. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-49436 75105275097719 . as i've made no bones about my personal view that the ' war on terror' is a farce.

[stokeace]

lol come on maxximus without wishing to sound derogotory to your intelligence but are you on this planet or what?do you really believe that the london bombings were some sort of propaganda stunt?that is surely an insult to the people who lost their lives going about their daily business and their loved ones.what will it take for people like you to actually come to their senses and wake up and smell the coffee?we are under threat at this very moment from islamic fundamentalists.what do you want to see a mushroom cloud of atomic smoke hanging over london or washington?or the sight of hundreds of people lying dead on the streets after the terrorists unleash biological warfare?or will that in your eyes be a propaganda stunt too?

[maxximus]

i was surfing around today and stumbled onto this and watched it for the first time,l then came across this question, read your and coldicote's replies and thought it was apropriate. i thought on the whole the video raised some very valid and reasonable points that require valid and reasonable answers. i am definitely on this planet and come from the position of a reasonable person requiring valid answers to reasonable questions. yes, it is an insult to the victims and their families not to fully answer these valid questions. if they can put 6-8 hours a of anna nicole smith into my living room everyday, to fully answer those valid questions, you would think these questions should have a slightly higher priority.

[rojash]

stokeace. 9/11 was carried out by Al Qaeda. There is no connection whatsoever between 9/11 and the war in Iraq, which was planned before 9/11 ever took place.

Coldicote: "Why is the west, especially the USA, apparently so hated by terrorists?"
The US has been sponsoring international terrorism, and supporting despots and dictators, and helping to overthrow democratically elected governments since the end of the WW2. Naturally, the victims of US foreign policy resent them and their supporters.

[Oneeyedvic]

Stokeace - back in the 80s, Ireland harboured terrorists - did you think we should have sent troops in to Eire?

The Americans used to fund and train Al Quadea when it suited them - should we be at war with them?

Please also try to remember that 7/7 was carried out after we were at 'war' - and most rational people believe it was caused because of our foreign policy.

[stokeace]

touche oneyedvic our swords cross once more lol yes i agree that 7/7 was caused by the uks foreign policy but what would the consequences be if we werent in iraq?that is my whole argument and rojash how can you possibly say there is no connection between 9/11 and the war in iraq?where do you think al queada are mainly based?errrrr iraq and afghanistan i think.

[Oneeyedvic]

actually stokeace, there is obviously a connection between al qaeda and Afghanistan, however, there was no proof of al qaeda links and Iraq ( there is now of course.) if you don't believe me, try reading both the independent 9/11 commission as well as the Senate Select Committee.

[Oneeyedvic]

try here as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein_an d_al-Qaeda

[stokeace]

yes oneyedvic but we are dealing with the situation which is happening now and it is that threat with which we have to deal with at this moment in time.who knows what the answer is but it is a dangerous time in which we are living.

[Oneeyedvic]

but the trouble is that we have made this a dangerous time ourselves - by invading a country on false pretences and now we are seeing the problems.

A big problem (as has happened in this thread) is that 9/11, 7/7, Afghanistan and Iraq are all blended together - and they are completely separate incidents and have different causes / problems.

9/11 was a tradgedy - and Al Qeda (most probably) were responsible and they need to be taken to task on that.

Afghanistan was right to be invaded with a regime change.


That is where it should have stopped - we should have concentrated all our (US & UK) army in that country until it was sorted.

IMHO 7/7 wouldn't have happened if we didn't invade Iraq.

What do we do with Iraq now - absolutely no idea!

[stokeace]

onedvic we do have a good debate on this issue i must admit.now 9/11 wasnt a tradegdy was it?it was terrosim which claimed the lives of thousands of innocent yes INNOCENT people.and yes al queada were responsible and we all know that.now this is the interesting part of your comment[ and i am going to say that it really is check mate on my behalf ]and i quote 'afghanistan WAS right to be invaded'but i disagree with you [again]lol we shouldnt stop we need to carry on until al queda and their supporters are crushed whether that involves invading or bombing iran they must pay the price for harbouring terrorists and developing nuclear weapons which they will threaten and use against the west.a most interesting debate with you i must say.we must meet up over a pint lol.

[maxximus]

stokeace and coldicote, you both seem to be basing your opinions of the war on terror on the fact that 9/11 and 7/7are the cause of it. afghanistan was invaded four weeks after 9/11 and had been planned for more than a year, some stories claim as many as 2yrs in advance. iraq was invaded before 7/7and it is now known, to have had no connection to alqaeda as has been previously pointed out. a ' major terrorist plot ' to blow up our parliament buildings and decapitate our prime minister in canada was thwarted just before our five year review on terrorism laws was up, and yes many of our civil liberties were removed, as well as sending our forces into afghanistan. the ' major terror plot ' turns out to be a farce. a similiar ' terror plot ' happened in australia. we are being scared into the loss of our freedom and liberties by a corporate elite that is only interested in stealing another countries finances and resources, by any means necessary. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Afghanistan/ Afghanistan_OtherLostWar.html and yes, we will continue to be able to drive our cars, for a price. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_eas t/article2132574.ece terrorist or honest broker? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml =/news/2007/02/25/wiran25.xml

[kwicky]

Does nobody ask why the terror threats are increasing? Is it because after every US strike innocent civilians are killed? They have families and friends! So every innocent killing is likely to bring in nearly 100 avengers. This leads to exponential growth in the number of terrorists and eventually becomes out of control.