By Andrew Grice
Belfast Telegraph UK
Gordon Brown has paved the way for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq by telling George Bush he would not delay
their exit in order to show unity with the United States.
After four hours of one-to-one talks with the US President at his Camp David retreat, Mr Brown told a joint press
conference he would make a Commons statement in October on the future of the 5,500 British troops in the Basra region.
The Bush administration, under mounting domestic pressure to produce an exit strategy from Iraq, has been nervous that
a full British withdrawal would add to the criticism. But Mr Brown made clear - and President Bush accepted - that
Britain would go its own way, even if that gave the impression the two countries were diverging.
Mr Brown's willingness to pursue an independent British policy in Iraq will be seen as an important break with Tony
Blair. Mr Brown said the two leaders had had "full and frank discussions" - diplomatic code for some disagreements.
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