Defence Secretary confirms British troops in Iraq to return home next year.

John Hutton the Defence Secretary said on the 11th of December during an interview with GMTV that many of the 4,100 troops fighting in Iraq are expected to return home by mid-2009. 'The Prime Minister has already made the position clear several months ago that we do hope that by the middle of next year we will be in a position to make a very significant change to our missioning in Iraq, and a lot of our guys will be able to come home because the job will have been done.

While Mr Hutton admitted that the Iraq war was a 'difficult situation', he said security in the country was 'infinitely better' than a year ago, which indicated that the 'job was done' and the withdrawal of troops could begin. He added that a full public inquiry into the Iraq war would take place, but not until it was over.
The move will bring to an end a controversial six-year military adventure which has claimed the lives of 177 British servicemen and women.

With years of overstretch British Commanders are desperately hoping they will not be needed in the future. That said around 400 UK personnel will stay in Iraq, to train the Iraqi Navy and run a 'Sandhurst-style' officer training academy in Baghdad. The U.S. still has just under 150,000 troops in Iraq, and President- elect Barack Obama wants the vast majority withdrawn by May 2010.