British PM Firm On Pullout From Iraq

(CBS/ AP)  Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the British mission in Iraq will end no later than May 31, 2009.

Brown made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad. He says he plans to provide details to the British parliament about troop withdrawal on Thursday.

Brown also called for the unconditional release of five British hostages held in Iraq since 2007.

His announcement follows news that the Iraqi government issued a resolution calling for all non-U.S. troops to withdraw by the end of July.

Britain is the second-largest contributor to the international military coalition in Iraq after the United States. About 4,000 British troops are now in Iraq, mostly in the country's south.

In other developments:

The Iraqi journalist who catapulted into fame by throwing his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush is now navigating the Iraqi legal system. As CBS News producer Randall Joyce notes, the system is "deeply flawed and, at times, intentionally confusing. If transparency is the standard for a good court system, then Iraq's is the opposite. Opaque doesn't begin to describe it."

The U.S. military says a roadside bomb exploded near an American patrol hours earlier in the same area but that there were no deaths or injuries.

In Baghdad, Iraqi police say the toll from a double-bombing in eastern Baghdad that targeted traffic police has increased to at least 18 people dead and 52 others wounded.

An Iraqi police official says the first blast Wednesday morning was from a car bomb. Moments later, a roadside bomb went off nearby targeting people rushing to the scene.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.

[bradosol]

I''m British and very glad our troops are leaving Iraq.
As for criticism of British forces, I''m sure our boys aren''t too bothered by it. They don''t have to prove themselves to anyone. There never was a military alliance that was all sweetness and light.

[metsobitso]

Typical scum politician. He is told to get out of the country so he turns it around and try%u2019s to make it sound like it is all his idea, he has decided to leave. Sad thing is, the puppet Iraqi government doesn''t do anything unless the Americans tell them to. So it is the Americans telling Brown to get out. That way they don''t have to pay him a cut of the oil money. The British troops are just sitting arouind doing nothing anyway.

[intheshade-2009]

Brown isn''t so much leaving, as he is being asked to leave.

[skunk_monkey]

TommyGun083 - we only pulled out of Basra because our military mission there was done. The British army are still working closely with the Iraqi police and are on standby if needed.

%u2018%u2019They are on a US airbase, behind US security forces%u2019%u2019 THAT%u2019S MA BOYS! they aren%u2019t stupid are they ^_^

[bailthisout]

At least he''''s smart enough to get his troops out of harm''''s way.
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Posted by IamHungry68

That I can agree with. Now only if our newly elected President would follow through with his campaign promise of bringing our troops home?

[metsobitso]

I understand he is affectionately referred to in the UK as the Cyclops. Something to do with his insight on running the British economy.

[intheshade-2009]

I hate it when he gives us the evil eye with that glass eye of his.

[tommygun083]

Under terms of his agreement, Brown has to keep his troops in Iraq if he wants to share in the oil profits. He has already pulled them out of Basra. They are on a US airbase, behind US security forces, miles away from where they could get hurt. Brown is so disengenuine and crooked it is pathetic.