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| Troops still have Iraq role - PM | Troops still have Iraq role - PM |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| British troops still have "an important job to do" in Iraq, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said. | British troops still have "an important job to do" in Iraq, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said. |
| Mr Brown said in a letter to Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell that the military still had "clear obligations to discharge". | |
| The prime minister said decisions would continue to be taken on advice from military and other experts. | The prime minister said decisions would continue to be taken on advice from military and other experts. |
| Sir Menzies had said the level of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan was now "unacceptable". | Sir Menzies had said the level of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan was now "unacceptable". |
| 'Magnificent job' | |
| Mr Brown said: "It is wrong to say that the continuing presence of UK forces in Iraq will achieve little, or that they are severely restricted in what they can do. | |
| "UK forces in Basra continue to have the capability to strike against the militias and provide overall security. | |
| "They will continue to work with the Iraqi authorities and security forces to get them to the point where they can assume full responsibility for security." | |
| Mr Brown said he was determined that the UK's approach to Iraq would be based on fulfilling obligations to the Iraqi government, and to the United Nations. | |
| Decisions on the ground would be made "on the basis of advice from our military and other experts, taking fully into consideration the safety of our armed forces," the prime minister added. | |
| "I will do nothing that puts at risk the ability of our armed forces, who have done and are doing a magnificent job, to accomplish their work," he said. | |
| 'Rehearses line' | |
| British troop numbers in Iraq are already down to about 5,500 from the 18,000 who took part in the original invasion. | |
| American officials have warned that UK troops are too thin on the ground and expressed concern that US forces will have to step into their role if the numbers are reduced further. | |
| Sir Menzies said Mr Brown's approach to Iraq was no different to that of Tony Blair. | |
| "The prime minister's letter simply rehearses the government line and could have been written by his predecessor," Sir Menzies said. | |
| "But the reality on the ground and the views of senior military figures undermine Mr Brown's analysis. | |
| "The debate on this issue will not go away, particularly as the American presidential elections will put Iraq at the centre of American politics." |