British troops could leave Iraq by January if legal deal not completed

British troops could leave Iraq by January if legal deal not completed

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/3568246/John-Hutton-ready-to-pull-UK-troops-out-of-Iraq.html]www.telegraph.co.uk[/url ]

A legal wrangle between the Ministry of Defence and the Baghdad governments means British involvement in Iraq could end sooner than expected.

Mr Hutton is privately furious that Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, has not yet agreed a deal to give British troops "copper-bottomed" legal protection from prosecution when their existing United Nations mandate expires at midnight on 31 December.

British officials in Baghdad are locked in talks with the Iraqi government aimed at agreeing a legally binding promise that troops would not be prosecuted if they killed someone while defending themselves.

(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 5/12/08 by Ste2652]

As the article goes on to note, Gordon Brown has said that the plan is for most British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by the middle of 2009 anyway... will leaving six months early make much of a difference to the Iraqi government?

It's difficult to know whether Hutton means business or whether this is a bluff to try to force negotiations on (US Defence Secretary Robert Gates made a similar threat earlier this year), but it raises an interesting prospect; will UK troops be withdrawn rather than facing prosecution if they attempt to defend themselves?

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/3568246/John-Hutton-ready-to-pull-UK-troops-out-of-Iraq.html]www.telegraph.co.uk[/url ]
(visit the link for the full news article)