Funr (FUNR)

[SharonB]

This may seem OT until you get to the very end of the aricle.
Brown on 'fact-finding' Iraq trip

Mr Brown praised the "tremendous dedication" of troops
The UK's prime minister-in-waiting, Gordon Brown, has been in Baghdad for what he called a "fact-finding" visit.
It is a second trip to Iraq for the chancellor, who is due to succeed Tony Blair as prime minister on 27 June.

Mr Brown had talks with Iraq PM Nouri Maliki and met military commanders and British troops, amid tight security.

He told reporters, who were barred from reporting the visit in advance, that it was "very much an assessment more than anything else, a fact-finding trip".

Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone came under mortar attack shortly before Mr Brown left the city.

Inquiry call

"I think the issue in Iraq is this - how can we help the Iraqi people not only run their own security and build a democracy but offer a prosperity they are perfectly capable of doing?," he said.

One of the issues he was looking at was the fact that only 25% of money allocated to Iraq was spent because of delays "at the centre and at provincial level".

Mr Brown also met senior British officer, Lt General Graham Lamb for talks, along with US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus, US commander of the multi-national force.

I think it's important to learn all the lessons

Gordon Brown


Analysis: Inquiry calls

The visit came as MPs in the House of Commons in London prepare to debate Conservative calls for an inquiry into the Iraq war and lessons to be learned.

The chancellor, accompanied on his visit by Defence Secretary Des Browne, said he did not back an inquiry being held while troops remained in Iraq but agreed lessons had to be learned.

He said that in future all intelligence information must be independent of the political process, and that it must be validated and verified if made public.

'Divisive' issue

He said he had asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell to look at how to ensure that independence and said he wants Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee to have a bigger role.

The key change would be that the Joint Intelligence Committee chairman would not be the same person as the Cabinet Office security co-ordinator. Both posts are currently held by Sir Richard Mottram, who will retire soon.


It's intriguing that we've been asked to keep this trip such a secret

BBC political editor Nick Robinson


Read Nick's thoughts in full

"I think it's important to learn all the lessons, just as Tony Blair has said he acted in good faith but mistakes were made. I think it's important to learn the lessons to look forward now," Mr Brown said.

Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said Mr Brown was "distancing himself from Mr Blair".

And shadow foreign secretary William Hague added: "I think it is a bit of an admission that that intelligence was not properly handled or presented at that time [in the run-up to war]... so it does need change and I think we will all be very sympathetic to that, but he needs to go a lot further."

Mr Brown has acknowledged that Iraq was a "very divisive" issue, but he has stuck by the decision to go to war.

On Monday he refused to put any timescale on withdrawing the remaining UK troops in Iraq - due to be reduced to 5,500 by mid-summer, but praised the "tremendous dedication and duty" of those he met.

Also on Monday it was announced that the tax free operational allowance for troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan is to be increased by 3.6% to £12.75 a day, backdated to April.

Defence chiefs say that because of the "increased stabilisation of the Balkans" personnel serving there will no longer qualify for the allowance, introduced last October, from 1 September.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6740067.stm
SharonB