The Hindu : International : U.K., U.S. to blame for the mess: Iraqi Minister

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Friday, Aug 31, 2007
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U.K., U.S. to blame for the mess: Iraqi Minister

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has blamed the current mess in his country on the way Britain and America handled the post-invasion situation and warned that a hasty withdrawal of coalition troops could lead to a “bloodbath”.

Mr. Zebari’s remarks, in an interview to The Times, came amid Britain’s plans to pull out most of its troops by the end of next year, starting with further reduction over the next few weeks. U.S. President George W. Bush is also facing mounting pressure to set a time-table for bringing American troops home.

“I am worried, absolutely worried,” Mr. Zebari said ahead of the imminent withdrawal of 500-odd British soldiers from the central of Basra after handing over the day-to-day security to local Iraqi forces. They will be stationed at Basra airport, effectively removed from operational security duty.

He hoped that it was not a prelude to a complete withdrawal of British forces saying the stakes were “very, very high for us as Iraqis, for the U.S. and Britain”.

Mr. Zebari echoed American criticism of British tactics in ceding more and more control to Iraqi forces. “You would really see a bloodbath,” he warned adding: “This is the time to stay the course. A responsible country like Britain …can’t just run away from its responsibilities.”

Criticising the post-invasion approach of British and American governments, Mr. Zebari said they “didn’t listen to their Iraqi friends — on all issues, on everything”.

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