Topic: Blair says Britain should not 'overstay' in Iraq

Media: AFP
Byline:
Date: 17 October 2006


LONDON, Oct 17, 2006 (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday it was
important for British troops not "to overstay" of Iraq, but said they would
still have to complete the job.

Blair, speaking at his monthly press conference, tried to defuse a furor
that arose last week when his army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt called
for troops to withdraw "sometime soon" because they exacerbated security
problems.

However, Blair urged journalists to put Dannatt's remarks that appeared
first in Friday's edition of the Daily Mail newspaper in the context of
those the general gave later the same day on radio and television.

"Of course it's the case... for some of those areas in Iraq, particularly
where Iraqi forces now want to take control over areas, it's important we
don't overstay the time we need to be there," Blair said.

"But in no sense was he saying... that we should get out of Iraq before the
job is done," Blair said.

In an interview on BBC radio Friday, Dannat clarified that British troops
were exacerbating the security problem in some areas of Iraq, but not all
areas and were in fact welcomed in places like Basra, the main southern
city.