British Troops in Iraq To Be Cut Down to 2,500

LONDON — Britain will halve its remaining troop contingent in Iraq next spring, Prime Minister Brown announced yesterday. A British official later said they could not guarantee that any troops would remain in Iraq by the end of 2008.

Mr. Brown, under fire over his decision not to call an election for this year, said Britain would lower troop levels to 2,500 by mid-2008 and redeploy logistics staff to neighboring states. The British leader was clearly hoping the announcement would help boost his popularity among a public weary of the war.

Aides had stoked election rumors for weeks, particularly as lawmakers and activists gathered for a series of political party conferences. But Mr. Brown scrapped the plans Saturday as opinion polls suggested his early wave of public support had waned.

Mr. Brown told lawmakers yesterday his Iraq plan follows the success of the American troop increase this summer and efforts by Iraqis to drive suspected Al Qaeda militants from havens in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

He said decisions on further cuts would be made once the reduction to 2,500 was complete, rejecting a call from opposition lawmakers to set a timetable to withdraw all British forces. Officials said the latest troop cut would be complete by April, and that a total withdrawal of forces would be among options considered then.

"At the point where we arrive at that number next year, we shall have a much clearer idea of what our policy is going to be," a British official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "But certainly at this stage there's no guarantee they're going to be there beyond the end of [2008]."

The British presence in Iraq peaked with 46,000 troops during the March 2003 invasion. It was reduced to 18,000 that May, and 8,600 by the end of May 2004. This past May, there were about 5,500 British troops in Iraq.

Britain is already scaling back forces, and by the year's end will have 4,500 troops based mainly on the fringe of the southern city of Basra, where a power vacuum has exacerbated discord among rival Shiite groups.

Iraqi forces will take control of security in the southern province of Basra within two months, ending Britain's combat role in the country, Brown said.