First UK troops to leave Iraq 'within weeks' - US sending in more troops

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=754962006

TONY Blair will use the restoration of a democratic government in Iraq to activate a pull-out programme that could see UK troops start to withdraw within weeks.

Although Iraq remains convulsed by violence and under constant threat of civil war, Blair and US President George Bush will this week thrash out the final details of their plan to leave Iraq.

And in another development certain to put strain on the coalition, the Italian government revealed it would begin talks this week to discuss the withdrawal of its own forces. Sources claimed as many as 1,000 of the 2,600 Italian troops in Iraq could leave by next month.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/21/wirq121.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/21/ixnews.html

The Pentagon is sending extra troops to Iraq amid fears of an offensive by insurgents who want to destabilise the new Iraqi government.

A battalion of 650 soldiers from the United States Army's 1st Armoured Division will be moved from Kuwait as a "temporary measure", even as officials draw up plans to reduce force levels in the country to around 100,000.

Another Kuwait-based battalion from the same division, deployed in March, will remain, despite earlier assurances that it would leave, bringing total troop strength to 133,000.

Mission accomplished.
And yet just today I heard ....19 Killed & 58 wounded in bombing in Baghdad.

Guess the U.S. troops will be the only ones left.

O.K. time to draft College Republicans ASAP.

I remember there was a time where people were suggesting that we should turn the Iraq situation over to the UN, and bring them in to help rebuild Iraq. And I think we turned that down, instead choosing to take this all upon ourselves? Upon ourselves and the "coalition," I guess, but the "coalition" has pretty much eroded away.

Why did we want to this to be OUR project again? What the hell advantage did that give us? Did they just want America to "reap the rewards" of Iraq all by themselves? Boy, that worked out well... :sarcasm:

is "Italian War Heros" it's not really surprising that they may well pull out first.

That is not withstanding the fact they maybe shouldn't have been there in the first place.

So, the Italians are leaving, The Brits are eyeing the exits, no doubt the rest of the 'coalition' will soon follow. That will leave the good ol' US of A as the sole remaining fool on the ship. How much longer will it be before we hear talk of 'escalation,' 'offensives,' and, ultimately, 'peace with honor' (shortly before scrambling for a seat on the last remaining helicopter to leave the roof of our new $600 Embassy)? Will it take 10,000 days?