Nu in Irak een burgeroorlog is uitgebroken zijn de Britten van plan zich terug te trekken:
'U.K. looks at 2007 handover to Iraqis
Civilian death toll hits record highin October, United Nations report says.
LONDON—Britain said yesterday it could hand back Basra province to Iraqi control early next year, the first time Washington's main ally has put a date on reducing its presence in Iraq.
The announcement came as the United Nations reported that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll of the war and one that is sure to be eclipsed when November's dead are counted.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq also said citizens were fleeing the country at a pace of 100,000 each month, and that at least 1.6 million Iraqis have left since the war began in March 2003.
At least 101 Iraqis died in the country's unending sectarian slaughter yesterday. The death count included 76 bodies found dumped in four cities, 59 of them in Baghdad alone, according to police, who said at least 25 people had been gunned down.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told Parliament yesterday: "The progress of our current operation in Basra gives us confidence that we may be able to achieve transition in that province ... at some point next spring."
Until yesterday, Britain had refused to be drawn on when troops might withdraw despite widespread criticism of Britain's involvement in the U.S.-led war, which has savaged Prime Minister Tony Blair's popularity ratings.
But with U.S. President George W. Bush now rethinking strategy in Iraq after a crushing U.S. mid-term election defeat, Blair has room to try to improve his standing at home before he steps down next year by detailing possible Iraq exit options.
Civilian death toll hits record highin October, United Nations report says.
LONDON—Britain said yesterday it could hand back Basra province to Iraqi control early next year, the first time Washington's main ally has put a date on reducing its presence in Iraq.
The announcement came as the United Nations reported that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll of the war and one that is sure to be eclipsed when November's dead are counted.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq also said citizens were fleeing the country at a pace of 100,000 each month, and that at least 1.6 million Iraqis have left since the war began in March 2003.
At least 101 Iraqis died in the country's unending sectarian slaughter yesterday. The death count included 76 bodies found dumped in four cities, 59 of them in Baghdad alone, according to police, who said at least 25 people had been gunned down.
Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told Parliament yesterday: "The progress of our current operation in Basra gives us confidence that we may be able to achieve transition in that province ... at some point next spring."
Until yesterday, Britain had refused to be drawn on when troops might withdraw despite widespread criticism of Britain's involvement in the U.S.-led war, which has savaged Prime Minister Tony Blair's popularity ratings.
But with U.S. President George W. Bush now rethinking strategy in Iraq after a crushing U.S. mid-term election defeat, Blair has room to try to improve his standing at home before he steps down next year by detailing possible Iraq exit options.
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