AP: Britain's Brown Suggests Policy Shift (in Iraq)

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Britain's Brown Suggests Policy Shift


Sunday January 7, 2007 6:01 PM

AP Photo BAG118, XAG103

By DAVID STRINGER

Associated Press Writer

LONDON (AP) - Treasury chief Gordon Brown, expected to succeed Tony Blair as prime minister
by September, suggested Sunday that he will pursue an Iraq policy that is more independent
of Washington than the current government.

Brown acknowledged that mistakes were made in the aftermath of the invasion and promised
to be "very frank" with President Bush. He also said that Britain is likely to scale down its
commitment of troops to Iraq over the next year - even as the White House is considering
dispatching thousands more, at least temporarily.

Brown's comments, aired on the British Broadcasting Corp.'s Sunday AM program, seemed
intended to distinguish himself from Blair, who has been criticized in Britain for his strong
support for Bush and the war, both unpopular here.

"I look forward, if I am in a new position, to working with the president of the United
States, George Bush," Brown said. "Obviously, people who know me know that I will speak
my mind. I will be very frank. The British national interest is what I and my colleagues
are about."

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6328886,00.html