Brits Plan to Withdraw Troops

Via Raw Story, the Financial Times reports:

The Ministry of Defence has drafted plans for a significant withdrawal of British troops from Iraq over the next 18 months and a big deployment to Afghanistan, the Financial Times has learnt.

In what would represent the biggest operational shake-up involving the armed forces since the Iraq war, the first stage of a run-down in military operations is likely to take place this autumn with a handover of security to Iraqis in at least two southern provinces.

Defence officials emphasised that all plans for Iraqi deployments were contingent on the ability of domestic security forces to assume peacekeeping duties from UK troops. Iraqi forces have so far proven unable to take over such roles in areas where the insurgency is most intense, and progress has disappointed coalition officials.

But senior UK officers believe the four south-east provinces under UK command, which are largely Shia and have not seen the same violence as more Sunni-dominated areas north of Baghdad, may be ready for a handover earlier than those under US command.

[…]

By next April, a best case scenario would see current troops levels of 8,500 reduced to about 4,000-5,000, with a further cut in the period leading to the first quarter of 2007, when the British military presence is expected to fall to about 1,000 advisers and training personnel.

We keep hearing about things that are contingent on the ability of Iraqi forces to assume the responsibility of peacekeeping from US and UK troops; in fact, it’s become the cornerstone of Bush’s response when asked about an exit strategy:

"Our strategy can be summed up this way: As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down, and then our troops can come home to a proud and grateful nation," Mr. Bush said.

But meanwhile, despite all administration claims to the contrary, such progress continues to be decidedly lackluster, and why wouldn’t it be, considering that Iraqi troops are constantly targeted by insurgents? We hear about multiple Iraqi troop casualty car or suicide bomb strikes nearly every day. Iraqi troops have to keep their faces hidden so their families aren’t killed. Not what one might describe as the most fortuitous set of circumstances in which to recruit and train a functioning military.

The deep disconnect between reality and “that which would be preferable and politically advantageous” seems to deepen every day, to the point where the spin is infuriatingly predictable. If and when British troops leave us to our quagmire, we will be a Coalition of One, for all intents and purposes, even more so than we already are. Just wait until Bush is asked about that one, and the asker is accused of denigrating the troops, by suggesting that our soldiers aren’t good enough to do the job on their own.