British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced yesterday he would begin pulling out some of his country's 7,100 troops stationed in Iraq in the coming months, according to The Associated Press.
Under the plan, which Blair announced during his weekly appearance before the House of Commons, 1,600 British troops would withdraw from Iraq during the next few months. He said that the number of British forces could be reduced to 5,000 by late summer, according to the AP.
Blair's announcement, which came on the same day that Denmark announced it would withdraw its 460 troops from Iraq, contrasts with President George W. Bush's recent decision to deploy an additional 21,000 U.S. troops to the country, according to the AP.
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Blair's decision to withdraw some British troops actually fits in with U.S. plans to turn over some security duties to Iraqi forces, according to the AP.
"The coalition remains intact and, in fact, the British still have thousands of troops deployed in Iraq," Rice said.
