On a visit to Baghdad, Gordon Brown said he believed that Basra province could be handed over to full Iraqi control within the next two months.
“I believe that by the end of the year British troops can be reduced to 4,500,” he said “That releases 1,000 of our troops and hopefully they will be home by Christmas.”
Following a meeting with Mr Brown, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki said: “We are prepared to take over security of Basra within two months and we will.”
That lede could have been presented differently; how about “Iraq prepared to take over Security in Basra”
