Britain Defies US on Iraq Pullout

New foreign secretary says Americans have no say on UK operations
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 28, 2007 11:48 AM CDT
Britain Defies US on Iraq Pullout
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, left, arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Sunday, July 29, 2007, on his first visit to the United States as prime minister. He was heading to Camp David where he will meet President Bush for meetings. At right is Foreign Secretary David Miliband. (AP Photo/Kevin...   (Associated Press)

The UK foreign secretary has challenged American criticism, asserting that only his government will dictate the pace and timing of a British withdrawal from Iraq. David Miliband responded to allegations from a retired US general that the UK army must step up efforts in Basra. "The British national interest," not wider coalition success, will be his focus, Millband said.

Yesterday PM Gordon Brown ruled out a timetable for the removal of British troops from Basra, but a withdrawal is clearly imminent; in a short time all UK forces will be stationed exclusively at Basra airport. On BBC Radio today, Miliband scuppered claims that the UK was waiting for David Petraeus' coming report and continued the new UK government's distancing from the American war effort. (More David Miliband stories.)

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