An unapologetic Tony Blair has announced that British troops will begin a phased withdrawal from Iraq. “We decided that our situation in the country was no longer tenable,” said the embattled Prime Minister. “And then we waited three years.”

Blair denied that the British Army was cutting and running from the volatile Anbar province. “Our task was to protect the Iraqis from themselves,” he said, “but we are now ready to hand that task over to the Iraqis.”

The premier pointed to decreased troop casualty numbers as a sign that conditions in Iraq were improving, and said that the civilian casualty numbers would also decrease in time. “Local forces are already responding to our training by retreating to a heavily fortified compound and avoiding fighting wherever possible,” he said. “And we can expect to see less civilian victims over the coming years as they flee the country.”

The troop reduction comes as Coalition members identify metrics that can measure success in Iraq. Blair's troop withdrawal comes after careful statistical examination of key numbers like approval figures and dissatisfaction ratings undecided voters.

President Bush has welcomed the troop pull-out as “good news”. “We haven't had any good news from Iraq for a while,” he said, “so I'm pleased that Tony Blair has decided to withdraw troops. I'm particularly glad that it was him and not the Democrats who were responsible – we all know that Democrat-inspired troop withdrawals embolden the terrorists.

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