BRITAIN:An orderly, timely and methodical British withdrawal from Iraq could see a further rise in Labour's opinion poll leads, already tempting prime minister Gordon Brown to consider calling an early general election. That was the conclusion of an editorial in yesterday's Daily Telegraph, sending a shiver down the spines of some senior Conservatives even as party leader David Cameron insisted he would be ready to face a snap poll in the autumn.
Speculation about the possibility of the return of British troops by the end of the year increased last night as Mr Brown and US president George Bush concluded their Camp David summit with solemn declarations of their shared commitment to the "universal values" of freedom and democracy.
Mr Brown indicated no date for the return of troops - and allowed no hint of a policy departure - at a joint press conference during which Mr Bush said the prime minister understood that failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States and the security of both their countries.
However, Mr Brown prompted speculation about his possible timetable when he spoke of "a chance of being able" to complete the declared British mission to hand security control to the Iraqis in Basra, indicating that there would be a report to MPs when parliament resumes in October.
Ahead of yesterday's resumed talks at Camp David, the Telegraph defended the original British intervention in Iraq while arguing: "if the balance of advantage should shift - if we reach the view that our presence is exacerbating the conflict, rather than containing a civil war - then we should move towards a phased withdrawal, in consultation with our American allies, but not subject to their veto". Having argued for years that the balance would tilt sooner or later, the paper concluded: "that moment may now be upon us. The US has invested heavily in its 'surge', aimed at pacifying Baghdad and the Tigris basin, with some success. But it is becoming hard to see what else might be achieved two or five years from now. Gordon Brown, in short, has every right to push for an orderly British pull-out. He is supported by military advice, public opinion and a large majority of Americans. There is no dishonour in a politician responding to what voters want.
"A withdrawal from Iraq, provided it were timely and methodical, could be for Mr Brown what dropping the poll tax was to John Major: a reversal of the previous regime's most unpopular policy. Do not imagine that Mr Brown's opinion poll lead can't grow further."