Downing Street Says

» Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Iraq

Asked to explain the Prime Minister’s statement at PMQs that British troops would remain in Iraq until Iraq could look after its own security, the PMOS said that as he had said this morning and has the Government had been saying since April of last year, it depended on the process of Iraqisation and how that developed. That was proceeding at a good pace, there was increased capability as well as numbers, but it was a case of making the right judgements at the right time. Primarily that would not be a judgment for the UK government but for the new democratic Iraqi Government.

Put to him that the Prime Minister had expressed last spring that he hoped all British troops would be home by the end of this year, or at least be substantially reduced the PMOS said he was not aware of the precise quote. However the Prime Minister stood by his hopes but the important thing was one which was first and foremost about the situation on the ground. And, first and foremost, was a result of the wishes of the democratically elected Iraqi Government. There was no point creating a situation where a democratically elected Government can exist in Iraq for the first time, if you immediately abandoned that Government. The Prime Minister had made it clear that that was not what we were willing to do. What we were going to do was create the capability within the Iraqi’s infrastructure for it to look after its own security.

1 Comment »

Does this mean that the PM has ceded some of the rights to decide how my taxes are spent to the government of Iraq?
Comment by Roger Huffadine — 20 Jan 2005 on 5:07 pm | Link

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Iraq

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