British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced yesterday that 500 more soldiers would be home from Iraq by the end of the year, fuelling speculation he may soon call a general election.
On his first visit to Iraq as prime minister, Brown said Iraq could take responsibility for security in Basra province within two months, completing the transfer of power in all four southern provinces for which Britain was once responsible.
Britain has been trimming its Iraq force from 5,500 since it pulled 500 soldiers from a palace in the city of Basra to a vast airbase on its outskirts in early September. The total now stands at about 5,250 and was due to fall to 5,000 soon.
"I believe that by the end of the year British troops can be reduced to 4,500," Brown told reporters during a visit to Baghdad. "That releases 1,000 of our troops and hopefully they will be home by Christmas."
Basra has enormous strategic importance as the hub for Iraq's vital oil exports that account for 90 percent of its revenue and a center of imports and exports throughout the Gulf.
Forty-one British soldiers have been killed this year, the most since 2003, although daily mortar attacks on Basra palace have largely stopped since the troops withdrew.
"I believe that within the next two months we can move to provincial Iraqi control, that is Iraqis taking responsibility for their own security (in Basra)," Brown told reporters.
Speculation is mounting in Britain that Brown is considering an early election. Yesterday's news about British troop reductions could be a further boost for a prime minister who is already enjoying a strong lead in the opinion polls.
Brown declined to comment on the election talk: "The first thing on my mind today is the security of our armed forces and what we can do to promote democracy in Iraq."
Deaths declining
The decision by Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, to join the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was deeply unpopular in Britain and his Labour Party, and ultimately led to him being hounded from power after a decade in office.
Brown, prime minister since June, does not have to call an election until 2010. Some political analysts say he is unlikely to take the risk of calling an election because he could end up either with a smaller majority, or out of office all together after waiting so long for the top job.
Brown's visit coincides with a marked drop in civilian and US military deaths across Iraq in September, despite pledges by Al-Qaida to escalate attacks during the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan, which started more than a fortnight ago.
The 884 civilians killed in September was the lowest toll since Washington began pouring an extra 30,000 troops into Iraq as part of a security crackdown aimed at Al-Qaida and other Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias across the country.
Feuding between Iraq's political camps has hamstrung the government and delayed progress on key reforms Washington wants.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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