British withdrawal could help Iraqis

Tony Blair, Britain's prime minister, announced yesterday that approximately 1,600 of the 7,100 British troops stationed in Iraq will be withdrawn by the end of 2007 - contrary to President George W. Bush's recent push for an American troop surge of up to 20,000.

Nevertheless, the actual withdrawal numbers are surprisingly less than that of the assumed speculation, which went up to withdrawing 3,000.

Throughout their time in Iraq, British troops have mainly helped locating rogue insurgents, arresting smugglers, and securing oil platforms.

As I have stated numerous times in the past year, I am against any major withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq. I am even open to President Bush's troop surge; in fact, it's something I've also previously considered.

Thus, I was initially dismayed after hearing of Blair's announcement. The war in Iraq, obviously, is a delicate matter. One bad mistake could lead to vast repercussions of excruciating caliber. After weighing matters, however, I've realized that, according to what Blair has said so far, the British withdrawal could potentially bring improvements. First off, the coalition's goal in Iraq is quite obvious: It wants to build a self-sufficient, stable, non-fundamentalist nation that has peaceful relations with the West and is modeled after the United States' "democratic republic." Withdrawing a small amount of British forces will allow the Iraqi forces to gradually take control so that, by trial and error, they will eventually become more self-sufficient and stable. (One could use this argument to justify a complete withdrawal, but I think a small amount of forces is the key here.)

Truthfully, I think it's safe to say that Blair is withdrawing because he is pressured. His officers have claimed their forces are stretched far and are doubly damaged by dual deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fact that many British troops are stationed in Basra, a city in Southern Iraq, is also a necessary point. To put it succinctly: Basra is not Baghdad. The latter is ridden with Sunni insurgents, al-Qaida operatives, et cetera - whereas British troops have experienced periodic fire fights. As British troops leave, it remains that Iraqis will be able to handle this part of security themselves.

"What all this means is not that Basra is how we want it to be," said Blair, "but it does mean that the next chapter in Basra's history can be written by Iraqis."