Brown:
"We are on exactly the same path that I have set out, which is that we will continue to discharge our obligations to the Iraqi people, that we support their democracy."
This echoes what President Bush said in his statement in front of the troops on Labor Day when he said:
But I want to tell you this about the decision -- about my decision about troop levels. Those decisions will be based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground -- not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media.
The cheering Hoooooowaaaahhh's of the troops at that statement can be heard on the video at the link above, telling us quite clearly what they think about the "nervous" politicians making decisions based on polls instead of conditions on the ground.
Today Bush meets with another strong leader whose previous statements regarding Iraq have been very clear about continuing to help the Iraqi people achieve the security and freedom they want, John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister.
We have posted about Howard's statements last month.
In his stance Gordon Brown is echoing the Australian counterpart John Howard who has made it clear that he will keep his forces in Iraq despite anything the UK does.Since becoming prime minister two months ago, Mr Brown has faced similar calls to his Australian counterpart John Howard about exactly how long allied troops will remain in Iraq.
Last week, Mr Howard faced more calls to clarify comments he made which appeared to suggest he would leave Australian troops in Iraq even if other countries like Britain pulled theirs out.
Iraq is expected to dominate talks between Mr Howard and George W Bush when the US president visits Sydney ahead of the APEC summit next month.
In his letter, Mr Brown wrote that Britain had obligations to the Iraqi government and United Nations to remain in Iraq until the country's own military forces were ready.
"Decisions on UK force levels and posture in Iraq are dictated by conditions on the ground," Mr Brown wrote.
"It is wrong to say that the continuing presence of UK forces in Iraq will achieve little, or that they are severely restricted in what they can do.
"We, together with the rest of the international community, have undertaken to support the country's political and economic development through the UN-led International Compact for Iraq.
"These are commitments it is not in our interests simply to abandon."
Brown, Howard and Bush all understand the need to make sure the Iraqi's are capable of maintaining their security before any reduction in troops or withdrawal and even time lines be set, as well as making sure their is no vacuum left in Iraq for Iran or al-Qaeda to step in to further endanger our combined interests.
These three strong leaders all have one thing in common, they all understand the necessity of finishing what we have started in Iraq, seeing to it that Iraq security forces are trained and capable of protecting themselves after the coalition forces leave and are determined to not provide a safe haven for al-Qaeda or allow Iran to step in and take over by leaving a vacuum.
I thank Gordon Brown, John Howard and George Bush for not bowing to "opinion" that does not take conditions on the ground into account but is instead screamed loudly because of political games.
Follow up with Fred Kagan's excellent analysis about the fools errand that Congress set upon the GAO.
[Update] More from todays joint press conference with President Bush and John Howard.
(NOTE: Instead of leaving you with the advertisements I usually have at the bottom of each post, I will leave you with one of the videos from Freedoms Watch) [30 second video.]
Gold Star Mother:
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