Four more years in Iraq for our troops

from TIM SHIPMAN, Daily Mail, in Baghdad

Last updated at 07:34 23 May 2006

British troops will be brought home from Iraq 'as fast as we can', promised Tony Blair on a flying trip to Baghdad yesterday.

See video footage of Blair in Iraq: Windows

The Prime Minister said he would start pulling out forces from June as he hailed the wartorn country's first unity government as 'a new beginning'.

But the fragile security situation was highlighted on the day of his visit by the deaths of 17 people in car bombs and drive-by shootings.

And senior British officials went on to warn that UK troops will have to stay for at least four more years.

They made it clear that the military presence would remain in Iraq until long after the Prime Minister has left Downing Street.

Diplomatic sources revealed that plans are in place to bring home just 1,000 of Britain's 7,200 strong force by autumn.

No10 officials admitted that 'the corrosive effect of sectarian violence' means that was impossible to move faster.

Since the invasion of Iraq three years ago, 111 British troops have died. Seven soldiers have been killed in the last month alone.

The security situation in the southern city of Basra is so poor Mr Blair had to turn to the Iraqi government.

He secured an agreement for a top-level delegation to be sent to the city to ease the pressure on British forces there.

Senior officials will meet members of insurgent groups and the Shia militias allied to Iran which have been attacking UK troops.

British officials, however, said it was hoped that at least one of the four provinces controlled by UK forces would be able to transfer to civilian control this summer.

But this is not expected to lead to an immediate withdrawal of British troops. It is, however, thought that significant numbers could begin returning home by the autumn, with more following next year.

In a sign of the volatile security situation, Mr Blair's visit was cloaked in secrecy as he was whisked from Kuwait to Baghdad in a Hercules transport plane.

Then, he had a hair-raising ride at tree-top height to the relative security of Baghdad's green zone in an

RAF Chinook shadowed by Apache helicopter gunships.

One helicopter in Mr Blair's entourage fired anti-missile flares but it is not thought it had come under attack.

Mr Blair met the new Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and his unity cabinet of Shias, Sunnis and Kurds. The two premiers issued a statement expressing hope that 'by the end of this year responsibility for much of Iraq's territorial security should have been transferred to Iraqi control'.

But in a frank press conference Mr al-Maliki said that Iraqi forces were not yet ready to take charge. He said: "Iraq's forces still need more backing, more training and more armaments."

Mr Blair described the post-war period as 'three years of struggle' that 'has been longer and harder than any of us would have wanted'.

On troop withdrawals, he said: "We want to move as fast as we can but it's got to be done in a way that protects the Iraqi people."

He went on: "Whatever the challenges, whatever the difficulties in terms of terrorism and violence, this is a new beginning."

A target to train 325,000 Iraqi police and soldiers will not be met until December at the earliest.

No 10 officials said that 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces may be ready to hand control to local forces this summer.

A senior British official said: "My guess is that during the four years of the new government, the role of the multi-national forces will change and come to an end.

"It will depend on the province and the state of security. I'd certainly hope that at least one of our provinces will be able to transfer during the summer."

But the official made clear that the deteriorating security situation has ended Mr Blair's hopes of withdrawing all troops by the time he leaves No10.

The official acknowledged the scale of the challenge. "Sectarian violence has grown in recent months," he admitted.

"The security situation in Basra is more serious."

The withdrawal of troops from Iraq will be a key topic when Mr Blair flies to Washington this week for talks with George W. Bush.

British casualties in Iraq are at least a third higher than official figures suggest, it was claimed last night in a TV documentary.

The Dispatches programme for Channel 4 said more than 80 servicemen have suffered often horrific injuries but their cases have not been formally recorded.