British troops in Iraq to be halved if success continues

[Barrett808]

LONDON (AFP) - The number of British troops in Iraq may be halved early next year if apparent military successes in the country continue at their current rate, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Citing senior British army officers and a senior American defence official, the newspaper said that the plan is contingent on Operation Sinbad, a several-month long attempt announced about a month ago to restore security and rebuild the troubled southern port city of Basra, continuing to succeed.

Britain has about 7,200 troops deployed in Iraq, but that number will be cut to 3,500 if Operation Sinbad continues to go well, the newspaper reported.

"If Operation Sinbad goes as well as it has done, then we can expect to substantially decrease our force by February at the earliest," the newspaper quoted an unnamed senior British official based in Basra as saying.

"There is a real sense that we are just short of that tipping point. If we can just push it over the edge everything will fall in a particular way."

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061026/ts_afp/britainusiraqmilitarytroopswithdraw

[Greeby]

This is the Torygraph, hence the use of the word "success"

Just a pointer before anyone's blood pressure goes through the roof

[MrModerate]

1. "Run Away . . . Run Away" . . . or is that "Cut and Run"? . . .

Whoops, I forgot -- "cut and run" has been discarded along with "stay the course."

I think the new phrase is "shit, I'm stuck."

[auburngrad82]

2. Do they define "successes?"

'Cause I'm not seeing a lot of "successes" coming out of Iraq or Afghanistan.



Liberal bumper stickers

[Barrett808]

3. Come on -- the handover of Amarah is a "success"

Massive looting, followed by Shi'a militias fighting it out in the streets.

Freedom's messy, don't ya know.

[Tempest]

4. Success = pulling out of dangerous areas of Iraq

Didn't the British just pull out of two areas of Iraq and leave them wide open for the insurgency to come in?

[mikeytherat]

5. Do they get to come home alive, or do they die in Iraq?

Because either way, "the number of British troops in Iraq may be halved early next year."

mikey_the_rat

[GeorgeGist]

6. Creating their own reality...

'apparent military successes '

[struggle4progress]

7. Corblimey! Smashin job, Uncle Sammy! Well played! Glad to have helped! Toodles, old chap!

[0rganism]

8. declare victory and leave - good idea

The brits haven't committed themselves to neo-Iraq as a corporate welfare slush fund as much as bushco has. Nice to have options.

Just remember, "it's not cut & run if you've already won!"

[LynnTheDem]

9. "success"

The huge increase in number of dead soldiers this month, that what they mean by "success"?