Downing Street Says

» Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Iraq

Put that Des Browne had in answer to a parliamentary question yesterday said that he was not able to say when Iraqi forces would be capable of looking after security, the PMOS said that you could not just address the issue as one question. There were a series of questions within that question. In 14 out of 18 of the Iraqi provinces the situation was relatively calm. Therefore it was easier for the Iraqi forces to take control province by province, as the Iraqi Prime Minister had set out yesterday, in those 14 provinces this summer. The key question, however, was whether you could maintain that momentum into the more difficult areas and that was why it was important that we had for the first time a democratically elected Iraqi government, which represented all of Iraq. What was interesting in yesterday’s discussions was the seriousness with which all the different elements within the Iraqi government took the unity of the government. Secondly, no one whether Shia, Sunni or Kurd, with connections to the insurgency had called for immediate withdrawal. What they all wanted to know was that we did not intend to stay forever, which we did not want either, but equally they did not want us to leave immediately either. They wanted us to create a situation where the Iraqi troops were ready to take on the responsibility. This was what we were doing.

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Iraq

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