An interesting leak appeared this morning in the Scotsman newspaper:
GORDON Brown will remove all British forces from Iraq before the next election under a plan to rebuild support among disillusioned Labour voters. Scotland on Sunday can reveal the Prime Minister elect is working on a withdrawal plan that could see troop numbers slashed from 7,000 to as few as 2,000 within 12 months.
Not very surprising, is it? The plan is similar to the plan being proposed by Demoratic senators here in the US. The next election in Britain must take place before Spring of 2010, which will give the new US President about a year in office. Brown’s gesture is obviously symbolic: it shows the Bush Administration that he is not supportive of an open-ended commitment in Iraq; it seeks to repair the breach between Labour and the British public over the war; it severs the policies of the Brown government from the policies of the previous administration.
Of course this won’t stop the calls of retreat from the American right, but I’m sure Brown is prepared to weather the storm. By all accounts Labour is losing support among the British public and Brown must take steps to preserve a Labour government . In this context it is a smart move. (Are you taking notes Democrats?) The last thing he wants is to take ownership of the Iraq disaster. By making clear his intention to withdrawal, Brown has ensured that the British public sees Iraq as “Blair’s War.”
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