Brown reviews strategy on Iraq

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Times Online

Gordon Brown plans to fly to Iraq to review British policy and troop numbers after using the launch of his leadership cam-paign yesterday to try to make a decisive break with the Blair era.

The Chancellor said he would govern Britain in a different way – “I want to lead a government humble enough to know its place” – as he lambasted the excessive use of spin and the cult of celebrity, and pledged to restore trust in Labour and politics.

But he also accepted for the first time that mistakes had been made in Iraq, saying that much more must be done to promote economic development and political reconciliation.

His decision to make an early visit to see army chiefs on the ground and the Iraqi Government will raise speculation that Mr Brown would like to speed up the timetable for British withdrawal. British forces are due to hand over control of Basra to Iraqi forces by the end of the year, when troop levels will be reduced from about 7,000 to 2,000.



Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1780079.ece

[Alexander]

1. Hopefully Brown will bring Labour back to its roots.

[Greeby]

2. No chance. Brown and Blair are ideologically joined at the hip

The key difference is that Blair has a terrifying messianic complex, whereas Brown is pragmatic regarding what he can get away with with the voting public. He's only thinking about pulling out of Iraq because he wants to win his first proper election in 2009.