The mutterings about this have been around for a while, but now it’s been confirmed: UK troops will be leaving Iraq by July 2009. In a joint statement just now – at the start of a surprise visit to Iraq by our PM – Brown and Nouri Maliki claimed that UK forces will have “completed their tasks” by then. Expect plenty of questions over all this: are those tasks really complete? Are the Iraqis being abandoned? Is the withdrawal operation too rushed? But, as I see it, the most important conflict zone for us is Afghanistan; or, more specifically, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Any signs that the Afghan mission is being given greater priority should broadly be welcomed.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in