CBC : British army chief says Iraq pullout needed soon

British army chief says Iraq pullout needed soon

CBC News | October 12, 2006

The head of the British army has called Prime Minister Tony Blair's Iraq policies "naive" and said the country's troops must get out of the war soon, according to a published interview.

Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff, said the British military presence is exacerbating the security problems in Iraq, according to an interview with the Daily Mail published on their website Thursday.

"The military campaign we fought in 2003 effectively kicked the door in," said Gannett. "Whatever consent we may have had in the first place may have turned to tolerance and has largely turned to intolerance."

"I think history will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful war fighting phase was poor, probably based more on optimism than sound planning," he added.

The public criticism from a serving military official is certain to cause a stir.

Several British media outlets are reporting that Defence Secretary Des Browne has summoned Dannatt for a meeting on Friday.

Dannatt, who just took over the post in August, said he was concerned about the implications in Britain. He said a "moral and spiritual vacuum in this country" has been exploited by Muslim extremists.

Dannatt, 55, has been deployed in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kosovo and Germany.

He was commissioned at Sandhurst military academy, where Prince William is an officer cadet and Prince Harry recently graduated.

According to the paper, Dannatt said he understands why William and Harry are eager to serve abroad but has not yet decided whether they will be allowed to fight in Afghanistan.