Troop increases and troop decreases

While the United States carries on with its troop surge plan, other countries begin to scale back, including our closest ally Great Britian.

Via the BBC - Blair announces Iraq troops cut

Prime Minister Tony Blair has told MPs that 1,600 British troops will return from Iraq within the next few months.

He said the 7,100 serving troops would be cut to 5,500 soon, with hopes that 500 more will leave by late summer.

Mr Blair said some soldiers, stationed at Basra air base, would remain into 2008 to help secure supply routes, the Iran border and to support Iraqis.

And in related news, also via the BBC, Denmark to pull troops from Iraq

Denmark will withdraw its troops from Iraq by August, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.

The troops, numbering about 460, will be replaced by a unit of about 50 soldiers manning four observational helicopters, he said.

It makes it sound like we are sending soldiers to the proverbial sinking ship.

But the Denmark article does note:

Mr Rasmussen said the withdrawal from Iraq would enable Denmark to increase its troop deployment to Afghanistan.

So it is not a complete abandonment of the situation in the Middle East.

For more discussion of the Iraq part of the story, check out Poliblog.