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Iraq

Every decision that we have announced has been based on the best military advice that we can have. It was right to reduce the numbers from 5,500 to 4,500. The reason why we did that was because we were moving—I suspect that the hon. Gentleman agreed with this policy—from direct combat to Operation Overwatch. It was also right to listen to the advice of military commanders when the situation changed on the ground in Basra—I have always said that—and to take the right decision, which was to support the training of Iraqi forces after the operation. I think that he actually supports the decisions that we made.