Brown rejects calls for Iraq exit
The prime minister said that decisions on troop levels would be determined by conditions on the ground
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Tuesday, 28, Aug 2007 06:11
Prime minister Gordon Brown has rejected calls for a "pre-determined exit timetable" saying that British troops in Iraq have an "important job to do".
Mr Brown replied to a letter written by Liberal Democrats leader Sir Menzies Campbell which criticised his policy on Iraq stating that it was no different from Tony Blair's and that the level of casualties in the strife-torn country was "unacceptable".
The prime minister said that decisions on the number of troops required in Iraq were "dictated by conditions on the ground".
He added that a pull-out plan would undermine the UK's commitment to its international obligations and would put armed forces in greater danger.
In the letter, Mr Brown vowed to "fulfil our obligations to the government and people of Iraq and the United Nations."
He added that troops had the means to do their job well and had a responsibility towards the Iraqi people.
"It is wrong to say that the continuing presence of UK forces in Iraq will achieve little, or that they are severely restricted in what they can do," the prime minister wrote.
"UK forces in Basra continue to have the capability to strike against the militias and provide overall security.
"They will continue to work with the Iraqi authorities and security forces to get them to the point where they can assume full responsibility for security."
"I will do nothing that puts at risk the ability of our armed forces, who have done and are doing a magnificent job, to accomplish their work," he concluded.
The Ministry of Defence recently announced that UK troops are being moved from the British military's base in Basra to an airport on the outskirts of the province.