Iraq
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Asked what our policy was in regard to the presence of British troops as part of the coalition beyond December 2005 the PMOS suggested people should look at what General Sir Mike Jackson had actually said and not the interpretation put on it. He had said:
"This is not mission creep. The mission is Iraq. The mission is to provide Iraq with its political and economic future."
In terms of our role in Iraq we were there at the invitation of the Interim Iraqi Government and the Prime Minister had made it clear that we did not want to be there any longer than it was necessary to build up Iraq’s own security forces to deal with the security threats they faced. That was what would determine how long the mission went on for.
Asked if the Prime Minister had full confidence that the elections would take place now that there was a firm date for them the PMOS said that the Prime Minister and President had both made it clear that elections were vital and were vital in the time scale envisaged. We were therefore delighted that the independent body charged with that had now named a date.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Search for related news
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