Blair: pull-out may begin in '06

[Jamie]

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could start pulling its soldiers out of Iraq next year if local forces are strong enough to keep the peace, Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday.

"I think it's entirely reasonable to talk about the possibility of withdrawal of troops next year but it's got to be always conditioned by the fact that we withdraw when the job is done," Blair told reporters after talks with Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Blair said there was no question of British troops quitting Iraq before local security services could act on their own but said the buildup of Iraqi forces was gathering pace.

"This is a completely different situation from a year ago," he said. "As that progresses, obviously the need for the multinational force reduces...but it's a question of that happening when the job is done.

"It's always been part of our plan to withdraw when the Iraqis are capable of looking after their own security.

Signs of a developing timetable are growing. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Sunday British troops could leave the country within a year because Iraqi security forces would be ready to replace them.

Mahdi, talking to reporters with Blair, echoed that assessment. "I think we will see a process next year for a certain, partial withdrawal," he said.

Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq, stationed mainly in the south. The area had been more stable than some other regions but violence has risen there in the last few months.

Defence Secretary John Reid said any plans to hand over to Iraqi security forces would be dictated by events on the ground and continued attacks by insurgents would only delay the process.

But he, too, expected some troops to return home next year.

"We are not saying that everyone will be out by the end of 2006 but we are saying that this process...is going relatively well and in the course of the next year we could well see the handover to Iraqi forces at certain places in Iraq, including in our own area," Reid told BBC Radio.

Iraqis are working on training their own soldiers and police to take full control of security of their country and fight a Sunni Arab insurgency that has killed thousands of people since 2003's U.S.-led invasion.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

If the Iraqis are ready to take on more responsibility, why not? They have to run their own country sooner or later.

However, leaving before they are ready would be disasterous for all parties, except the terrorists of course.

[SLCPUNK]

If the Iraqis are ready to take on more responsibility, why not? They have to run their own country sooner or later.

However, leaving before they are ready would be disasterous for all parties, except the terrorists of course.

The terrorists love us there now. It is their biggest recruitment tool to date. Bush did exactly what Osama wanted him to do by invading Iraq.

[Izzy]

20 threads on Iraq - i though the jungle was being 'cleaned up'?

[Dr. Blutarsky]

If the Iraqis are ready to take on more responsibility, why not? They have to run their own country sooner or later.

However, leaving before they are ready would be disasterous for all parties, except the terrorists of course.

The terrorists love us there now. It is their biggest recruitment tool to date. Bush did exactly what Osama wanted him to do by invading Iraq.

And if we left now they'd love us even more for handing Iraq over to them.

[Thorazine Shuffle]

If the Iraqis are ready to take on more responsibility, why not? They have to run their own country sooner or later.

However, leaving before they are ready would be disasterous for all parties, except the terrorists of course.

The terrorists love us there now. It is their biggest recruitment tool to date. Bush did exactly what Osama wanted him to do by invading Iraq.

And if we left now they'd love us even more for handing Iraq over to them.

Well put.  Either way I feel we will see civil war in Irag.  And those crazy bastards like to wage wars that last hundreds of years.  Good job GWB! 

[SLCPUNK]

If the Iraqis are ready to take on more responsibility, why not? They have to run their own country sooner or later.

However, leaving before they are ready would be disasterous for all parties, except the terrorists of course.

The terrorists love us there now. It is their biggest recruitment tool to date. Bush did exactly what Osama wanted him to do by invading Iraq.

And if we left now they'd love us even more for handing Iraq over to them.

Well put.  Either way I feel we will see civil war in Irag.  And those crazy bastards like to wage wars that last hundreds of years.  Good job GWB! 

Civil war has already broken out.

The terrorists were not there until we went in. That is a well established fact.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

If the Iraqis are ready to take on more responsibility, why not? They have to run their own country sooner or later.

However, leaving before they are ready would be disasterous for all parties, except the terrorists of course.

The terrorists love us there now. It is their biggest recruitment tool to date. Bush did exactly what Osama wanted him to do by invading Iraq.

And if we left now they'd love us even more for handing Iraq over to them.

Well put.? Either way I feel we will see civil war in Irag.? And those crazy bastards like to wage wars that last hundreds of years.? Good job GWB!?

Civil war has already broken out.

The terrorists were not there until we went in. That is a well established fact.

Zarqawi was there before we were. Last I heard he's been known to blow up a car or two.

[SLCPUNK]

Zarqawi was there before we were. Last I heard he's been known to blow up a car or two.

Spare me.

It was not the terrorist state, or terrorist backed state that Bush LIED to this country and claimed it was. The facts are all in now, you are wrong, and so was everybody else. It's over. Be a man and admit your president fucked this all up.