Well, I can't say it's unexpected...British prime Minister Tony Blair is going to Announce an Iraq Withdrawal Plan tomorrow.
It will probably bring 1,500 home almost immediately, with about half of Britain's 7,000 man force gone by the end of this year.
Apparently Blair and the Brits don't have much faith in the `surge' plan either. Or, as I've said onsite, Bush has made an arrangement with Maliki and al-Sadr to keep things quiet so that the US can leave peacefully and the Shiites can complete their takeover....and Blair knows it.
Blair is in problems now up to his neck, and is expected to step down as PM shortly. His likely successor, Gordon Brown, is even more aggressive about wanting British troops out of Iraq and in general wanting to erode the `special relationship' between Britain and America.
Just for the record, here's what PM Blair Blair said January 24th inthe House of Commons when he rejected an opposition plan to withdraw British trops by October:
"That would send the most disastrous signal to the people that we are fighting in Iraq. It's a policy that, whatever its superficial attractions may be, is actually deeply irresponsible."
So long, cousins...
maybe harry isn't going to iraq afterall........
ReplyDeletei'm sure ff knows the name of some of the legendary names in british history. more so than i do. i wonder what they would think of this action. the sun has definitely set on the british isles.
i just can't square this behaviour with that in northern ireland.
or for that matter the falklands.
Hi Louie,
ReplyDeleteActually, I think us, the Brits, the Australians and pretty much everyone else will be out of Iraq before year's end.
Like I said, you notice that the Shiite militias are laying low, and those that are being detained are going quietly, while the Sunni fighters are being slaughtered out of hand
And that the ethnic cleansing and concentration of the Sunnis in Iraq still continues, and that Maliki is still walking around in one piece.
I think the fix is in, and Bush, al -Sadr and Maliki have a deal to keep things relatively quiet so we can leave gracefully - after which they will bond with their jihad pals in Iran, just as I predicted a year ago.
Wild card - Bush may actually surprise me and take decisive action against Iran, changing the whole complexion of the situation.
If he does so, he may actually have served some useful purpose in his eight years in Washington.
More on this later, I promise...
ps: Weekend Monkey told me he is going to have his people get in touch with you about organizing Oklahoma for him.
Just though you ought to know...
ff,
ReplyDeleteyou tell chimp boy to come on out here. given the people we have in oklahoma city, he will fit in like hand/glove.
and to nitpik the phrasing of your ps, the only person capable of organizing oklahoma parted the red sea.
So much for the "White Man's Burden" I guess.
ReplyDeleteAh, well. Every empire dies.
Hi Louie Louie I will take it from your reply as a given that you endorse Weekend Monkey as the democrat candidate for president and are confident that you can organize the Sooner State for him.
ReplyDeleteGlad you've come around..he'll be thrilled to know, I'm sure.
Hi Nazar This is not a matter of an `empire' dying, but of an attempt to create one.
I understand why Blair is doing this, and we will no doubt follow shortly. But rest assured that this will not end here, and the failure of leadership,especially in the US will come back to haunt us unless something changes fairly quickly.
I still have some hope the president will surprise me and deal decisively with Iran. If not, rest assured that this war will follow us home...and the Brits as well.