After U.S. Elections, Europe Awaits Change in Iraq Policy

After U.S. Elections, Europe Awaits Change in Iraq Policy

LONDON -- British officials believe an American exit from Iraq will be the goal of a new Bush strategy in the war, and defense sources in London were quoted in the British press Sunday as saying Britain will be doing the same with its 7,500 troops currently in southern Iraq.

According to a report in the London Sunday Times, "senior sources" have been saying for some time that British Prime Minister Tony Blair postponed a phased drawdown of his country's Iraq contingent because "he was reluctant to embarrass Bush before last week's elections."

Now, however, reports say the British pullout could be well underway by the end of next year. This is only partly a reflection of the war's intense unpopularity in Britain. Whitehall took on a larger military commitment in Afghanistan on the understanding that British forces would be leaving Iraq.

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