British official: No shift in Iraq plan (AP)

[Eugene]

Thursday, November 9, 2006 · Last updated 11:36 a.m. PT

British official: No shift in Iraq plan

By BETH GARDINER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

LONDON -- Iraq is at a critical juncture and faces a real risk that violence
will escalate even further, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said
Thursday, warning against a precipitous withdrawal by the U.S.-led coalition.
Beckett said the electoral wins by Democrats and the resignation of Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld would prompt a reassessment of strategy
in Iraq, but were unlikely to lead to a major shift in policy.

The recommendations of an independent U.S. commission led by former
Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep. Lee
Hamilton would be key to determining America and Britain's next moves,
she said.

"What is really important is the development of the Baker-Hamilton report,
the discussions, the conversations that are taking place on that," Beckett said.
"I am not myself anticipating some major upheaval in policy. What I do think
we will see is a reassessment ... of how the international community can best
move forward."

-snip-

Full article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Rumsfeld_World_View.html

Donald Rumsfeld may be gone, but don't expect significant changes
in the near term.

[Avalux]

1. Wes Clark said the same thing on NPR this morning.

We'll have a kindler, gentler war criminal taking over for Rummy, but that doesn't mean anything's gonna change. (kindler, gentler war criminal are my words, not Clark's).

[David__77]

2. British Labor Party as bad as US GOP...

There's no way around it. It's been destroyed utterly as a progressive organization. Irredeemable.