British Troops to Begin Iraq Withdrawal in May

The UK’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise trip to Iraq on Wednesday, followed by the announcement that British troops will begin pulling out of Iraq at the end of this coming May.

Scotsman.com:

Questions remained over whether the troops would be re-deployed to Afghanistan, which hosts 8,000 British soldiers – more than double the number present in Iraq. Pressure is also mounting on the government to confirm when it will hold a public inquiry into the Iraq invasion, now that a withdrawal date has been set.

During his whistle-stop visit yesterday, Mr Brown hailed the Iraq mission as a success.

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AP photo / Mahmoud Badri

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, left, meets with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi in Baghdad on Wednesday.