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Iraq

My Lords, I share the view that we must be concerned about the difficulties of lengthy, extensive commitments. I hope I have made it clear to the House that our intention is that, as we move to Iraqi takeover of security, the Armed Forces will be drawn back from the front line. Once we have seen whether the Iraqi forces can stand up to the difficulties they face, there should be a real prospect of our forces being drawn down. I recall pointing out to the House just over a week ago that the overall number of forces committed in theatre reduced slightly in the last year. Of course, I would hope that it would be possible to reduce that still further. But the phrase ““still further”” inevitably demands that we know that there is adequate security to make further progress in Iraq.