PARIS, June 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush has criticized Prime Minister Gordon Brown for discussing a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.
In an exclusive interview given in Paris to the Sunday British newspaper The Observer, Bush said he disapproved of Brown's reported plans to announce a final British pull-out from Iraq by the end of the year.
Noting he already had "discussions" with Brown on the topic of Iraq, Bush told The Observer although he was "appreciative" the prime minister kept in touch with the United States about his military plans, any withdrawal from Iraq had to be "based on success."
"Our answer is: there should be no definitive timetable," Bush said, adding Brown has already once reduced the scale of a previously announced troop withdrawal by 700 soldiers.
"I am confident that he, like me, will listen to our commanders to make sure that the sacrifices that have gone forward won't be unraveled by draw-downs that may not be warranted at this point in time," Bush told The Observer.
