U.K. Prime Minister Announces Troop Decrease

According to a press release from the website of 10 Downing Street, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Monday that he is planning to withdraw more British troops from Iraq. The withdrawal will leave the U.K.s number of troops in Iraq at 2,500.

Brown announced the troop withdrawal while outlining his overall strategy for Iraq in a session of Parliament. Brown's statement to Parliament came a week after the PM visited Iraq and met with military and political figures in Baghdad and troops in Basra.

Brown began his statement with solemn acknowledgment and gratitude towards the British soldiers that lost their lives in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brown reaffirmed his commitment to the U.K.s original goals for Iraq including: bringing together the political groupings in Iraq; insuring the security of the Iraqi people, Iraqi government, and British troops; and finally working to establish a thriving economy that the Iraqi people have a part in.

Brown took care to point out his agreement with and commitment to the United Nations mandate calling for the Iraqi people to determine their own political future. The mandate also calls for: "the International Community, particularly countries in the region and Iraq's neighbors, to support the Iraqi people in their pursuit of peace, stability, security, democracy and prosperity".

In addition to affirming his support for the U.N. mandate Brown laid out a laundry list of goals that he expects the Iraqi government to achieve, carefully detailing the measures he believes are necessary to bring peace and stability to the region.

"The future depends first of all upon sustained progress on political reconciliation. That is why when I met Prime Minister Maliki and Vice President Hashemi in Baghdad last week, I said it was vital - and they agreed - that the 3 plus 1 leadership group of the Prime Minister and Presidency Council meet to take the political process forward; that key legislation be passed on sharing oil revenues, de-ba'athification, the constitutional review and provincial elections; that the government must reach out to disaffected groups, as well as decide on next steps on detainees; and that local elections go ahead in early 2008 making Provincial Councils more representative. And our message to the Government of Iraq - and to the leaders of all Iraq's communities and parties - is that they must make the long-term decisions needed to achieve reconciliation." Brown stated.

Brown plans to accomplish the troop withdrawal in phases that will coincide with British forces turning control of select areas over to Iraqi security forces. He hopes to meet the goal of decreasing troops to 2,500 by spring.

The PM also announced a plan to assist the Iraqi people that have assisted British forces in their endeavors at great risk to themselves and their families. Brown stated that the UK will assist these employees by granting them financial payments so they may resettle in Iraq or elsewhere, and in certain cases may admit some of them to the United Kingdom.