Many British troops to exit Iraq; Prince H. coming
"Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Wednesday that 1,600 British troops would return home from Iraq in the coming months and that a further 500 soldiers may be withdrawn by the end of summer.
. . . Blair said the British reduction in troops was possible because security conditions were better in southern Iraq, where British troops patrol, than in Baghdad.
. . . military and political analysts disputed Blair's upbeat description of the situation in the Basra area. They also said they believed the timing of the British drawdown may have more to do with plunging polls for Blair's Labor Party, pressure from British military officials and Blair's desire to begin an endgame for Iraq before he leaves office.
. . . British military leaders are increasingly complaining of overstretched forces and low morale, and there has been growing military pressure on Blair to reduce the presence, said Michael Williams, head of the transatlantic program at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies." [1]
"Britain made headlines on Wednesday by saying it would bring some troops home from southern Iraq. On Thursday, it made even more waves here by saying it would send one soldier in the opposite direction: Prince Harry, second son of Diana, Princess of Wales, and third in line to the throne.
Apart from being known as something of a playboy prince, Harry, 22, is a soldier, a second lieutenant in the upper-crust Blues and Royals Regiment of the Household Cavalry, who graduated from the Sandhurst military academy last year. Despite fears among his official handlers that he would be a “bullet magnet” in Iraq, he has long insisted that he would not countenance the idea of the soldiers under his command in an armored reconnaissance unit going without him." [2]
sources
[1] Jordan, Mary & Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Blair Plans To Withdraw 1,600 Troops From Iraq. February 22, 2007.
[2] Cowell, Alan. (The New York Times). Prince Harry, 3rd in Line to Throne, to Fight in Iraq. February 23, 2007.
posted: saturday, february 24, 2007, 11:36 AM ET
update: saturday, february 24, 2007, 11:53 AM ET
tags: iraq british prince harry
. . . Blair said the British reduction in troops was possible because security conditions were better in southern Iraq, where British troops patrol, than in Baghdad.
. . . military and political analysts disputed Blair's upbeat description of the situation in the Basra area. They also said they believed the timing of the British drawdown may have more to do with plunging polls for Blair's Labor Party, pressure from British military officials and Blair's desire to begin an endgame for Iraq before he leaves office.
. . . British military leaders are increasingly complaining of overstretched forces and low morale, and there has been growing military pressure on Blair to reduce the presence, said Michael Williams, head of the transatlantic program at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies." [1]
"Britain made headlines on Wednesday by saying it would bring some troops home from southern Iraq. On Thursday, it made even more waves here by saying it would send one soldier in the opposite direction: Prince Harry, second son of Diana, Princess of Wales, and third in line to the throne.
Apart from being known as something of a playboy prince, Harry, 22, is a soldier, a second lieutenant in the upper-crust Blues and Royals Regiment of the Household Cavalry, who graduated from the Sandhurst military academy last year. Despite fears among his official handlers that he would be a “bullet magnet” in Iraq, he has long insisted that he would not countenance the idea of the soldiers under his command in an armored reconnaissance unit going without him." [2]
sources
[1] Jordan, Mary & Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Blair Plans To Withdraw 1,600 Troops From Iraq. February 22, 2007.
[2] Cowell, Alan. (The New York Times). Prince Harry, 3rd in Line to Throne, to Fight in Iraq. February 23, 2007.
posted: saturday, february 24, 2007, 11:36 AM ET
update: saturday, february 24, 2007, 11:53 AM ET
tags: iraq british prince harry
Labels: british, iraq, prince harry
posted by eric at 11:14 AM
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