LONDON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined his government's strategy for Iraq at the British House of Commons in London Monday.
The prime minister announced plans for the British military that include reducing troop levels in southern Iraq to 2,500 by next spring, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
Brown also said that British operations will continue to work to bring together the political groupings in Basra and across Iraq, to ensure security for Iraqis and the new Iraqi democracy is properly safeguarded and to work for an economy in Iraq where people have a stake in the future.
"Whatever disagreements there have been about our decision to go to war, there can be little disagreement about the unanimous U.N. position affirming the right of the Iraqi people freely to determine their own political future, calling upon the International Community, particularly countries in the region and Iraq's neighbors, to support the Iraqi people in their pursuit of peace, stability, security, democracy and prosperity," Brown said in a statement.
Brown highlighted successes in training Iraqi security forces and improvements in the security situation in the south, including the British handover of security operations for Basra City. Brown said as Iraqi authorities prove capable of shouldering security responsibilities, British troop numbers would be reduced.
"During our engagement in Iraq we have always made clear that all our decisions must be made on the basis of the assessments of our military commanders and actual conditions on the ground," Brown said. "As a result of the progress made in southern Iraq, United States, United Kingdom and Iraqi commanders judged over the last 15 months that three out of the four provinces in the United Kingdom's area of control in southern Iraq were suitable for transition back to the Iraqis."
