§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the timetable for withdrawing British troops from(a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq. [150160]
§ Mr. HoonWe have no plans to withdraw British forces from Afghanistan, where they are helping to support the implementation of the Bonn Agreement. With regard to Iraq, the joint United States—United Kingdom declaration of 20 November 2003 on Iraq says
Our military participation in the multinational force in Iraq will serve the Iraqi people until the Iraqis themselves are able to discharge full responsibility for their own security.Our engagement in both Afghanistan and Iraq is driven by clear policy aims, not by arbitrary timetables for withdrawal.