London/Baghdad – Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced during a visit to Iraq Tuesday that 1,000 British troops will be home for Christmas and confirmed that security control for Basra province will be handed over to the Iraqis within the next two months. Brown made the announcement during his first visit to Iraq since he became prime minister at the end of June. Soon after his arrival in Baghdad early Tuesday, Brown held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other senior politicians.
How hard is this. Gordon Brown is making it clear to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Britain is on the way out of Iraq, but is being fair in leaving gradually. He’s doing that thing that people skilled in the ways of diplomacy do – he’s being both supportive and confrontive. He’s saying, "It’s your show now and we’re leaving, but I’m giving you ample time to adjust to our leaving." Wouldn’t it be nice if America had a skilled diplomat too?
It would be nice if we had a competent diplomat or any other competent public representative at this point. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case now or in the near future. *sigh*