BRITAIN: Gen Sir Richard Dannatt was being forced yesterday to try and dampen the impact of his broadside on the British prime minister's policy in Iraq. But the attempt backfired as he warned that British troops should come home in two years, contradicting Mr Blair's refusal to put a deadline on their presence in Iraq.
Mr Blair last night said he "agreed with every word" in a series of radio and television interviews designed to hose down the crisis created by Gen Dannatt's interview in the Daily Mail in which he said Britain's presence in Iraq was harming Britain's security.
The interview - in which Gen Dannatt also suggested the original ambitions for Iraq were naive - put him at odds with the government. But after overnight discussions with Des Browne, the defence secretary, Gen Dannatt said there was not "a piece of paper, however thin" between him and the government.
The general refused to back down on the substance of his remarks and to some degree compounded them. "I am not a maverick in this sense. I am a soldier speaking up for his army. I am just saying come on, we can't be here forever at this level," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"I have got an army to look after which is going to be successful in current operations, but I want an army in five years' time and 10 years' time. Don't let's break it on this one."
In another interview, with Sky News, Gen Dannatt said: "The army is exceptionally busy so I want to see this mission successfully concluded, but I also want to make sure I've got an army that's not so exhausted that it's still there and can do the job in five years' time, in 10 years' time . . ."
The prime minister's official spokesman said the way the Daily Mail interview was presented, "did raise questions" but the general had dealt with them.
In a written statement yesterday, the general said: "We have been in southern Iraq for 3½ years and we have made significant progress . . . The point that I'm trying to make is the mere fact that we are still in some places exacerbates violence from those who want to destabilise Iraqi democracy." Last night Mr Blair went further. "What he is saying about wanting the British forces out of Iraq is precisely the same as we're all saying," he said. "Our strategy is to withdraw from Iraq when the job is done.
"When he's talking about how our presence can exacerbate the problems in Iraq he's absolutely right. I've said the same myself . . . We'll withdraw completely from Iraq as the Iraqi forces are able to handle their own security."
No 10 was caught off guard on Thursday evening when reports of the Mail story first surfaced. Gen Dannatt was contacted and spoke to Mr Browne. According to government sources, he volunteered to return to London from the south coast to give interviews clarifying his position.
The prime minister's office also dismissed as "fabrication" BBC claims that the White House had intervened. There was also speculation that the interview helped the government to push the Americans into allowing an early exit from Iraq, but this was discounted by official sources.
Loyalist Labour MPs said the general was reflecting a view that the situation had changed. David Winnick, a senior backbencher who supported the Iraq war, said: "I think there is now a growing political consensus, including those who support military action, that there now must be a limited timeframe for British forces to remain in Iraq. There is no evidence whatsoever that the daily slaughter of innocent Iraqi civilians by terrorist sectarian groups is being hindered in any way by the military presence of the coalition troops."
- (Guardian service)