Downing Street Says » Iraq Handover

» Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Iraq Handover

Asked about the Prime Minister’s comments about the handover of control after the Iraqi General Election, and the withdrawal of troops from various areas, the PMS said the Prime Minister was setting out a timeline, rather than a timescale. Once the elections were over, the plan was for our troops to leave the country once the job had been completed. We were there for as long as the Iraqis would like us to be. Once the election was over at the weekend, we could then look forward to making a plan for the troops to leave Iraq. We were not setting a timetable, rather indicating a general plan. The PMS said that yesterday Prime Minister Allawi had also set out his views about what would happen, with the aim being that troops would withdraw when considered appropriate.

1 Comment »

"…the PMS said the Prime Minister was setting out a timeline, rather than a timescale."

It’s lucky they’re setting out a timeline rather than a timescale. Previous timescales have included troops leaving Iraq 60-90 days after the invasion (!), and elections scheduled for a year after the invasion (!!). At least this time the government will be spared the embarassment of us being able to compare the picture in their head against reality.
Comment by square peg — 26 Jan 2005 on 7:33 pm | Link

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