After the United Kingdom announced its troop withdrawals from southern Iraq, the spinning began in earnest. Democratic opponents of the new Bush strategy in Iraq claimed that the pullout demonstrated a growing consensus that the war is lost. Sen. Harry Reid said this was “a reality that President Bush stubbornly refuses to accept.” On the other hand, Vice President Dick Cheney said that the British move was “confirmation of the fact that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well.” Some are asking a fair question: if recent improvements in the south reduce the need for a coalition military presence there, why aren’t some of the freed-up troops heading north to assist their coalition partners in Iraq? The fair answer is that, unfortunately, it’s not politically feasible:

Chris Brown, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said [Tony] Blair probably had his eye on both Iraq and Britain.
“You can argue that the situation in Basra has improved of late,” Brown said. “I think it’s also the case that he would like there to be as few British soldiers as possible in Iraq when he leaves. I think he probably sees it as in some sense an indication that the policy has been successful.”