UK defence secretary arrives in Baghdad for visit

Baghdad, Jan 29: British Defence Secretary Des Browne arrived in Baghdad for an unannounced visit at a time when Washington's main ally hopes to cut back its troops even as US President George W Bush sends more.

Browne will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and other officials today to assess progress on the ground, a British Defence Ministry spokesman said.

''I'm here to discuss the progress we have made, the challenges we face and what we all need to do in the crucial months ahead,'' Browne said in a statement.

Britain, which sent 45,000 troops to the Gulf to help oust Saddam Hussein in 2003, is hoping to cut its remaining 7,000-strong force by several thousand by mid-2007.

But British officials insist London is not leaving Washington in the lurch, because the southern areas patrolled by British troops are quieter than the area in and around Baghdad that Bush intends to fortify with his ''surge'' plan.

The Defence Ministry spokesman said Browne's visit was long-planned and not a response to a change in U.S. policy.

British forces have already turned over to Iraqis security responsibility for two of the four southern provinces they controlled, and have largely vacated a third province.

They are now conducting a security sweep called Operation Sinbad in Basra, Iraq's second biggest city, and say they will probably withdraw to a single base outside the city if it is successful in the next few months.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said on Sunday Britain believes Bush's troop reinforcement plan, announced this month and criticised strongly by the Democrats that now control the U.S. Congress, could still work.

''If it doesn't work, they'll have to try something else,'' she told BBC television.

Reuters