Gary Kent examines the issue of foreign troops

There is a rising crescendo of debate on how and when US and UK troops should and will be withdrawn.

There’s a need to balance the need to increase Iraqi security capacity with reassuring Iraqis that the troops won’t stay forever, as part of a plan of domination, and to take the steam out of the nationalist-inspired insurgency as well as not leaving Iraqi democrats in the lurch.

The Times reports a senior Western diplomat in Baghdad saying one of the first things we will talk about (with the new Iraqi government) is the phased transfer of security, particularly in cities and provinces. It will happen progressively over the next year.

The Iraqi government is already expressing fears that the troops will be withdrawn prematurely.

Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, told The Times yesterday that a hasty exit risked plunging the country into a new bout of violence.

“Those who advocate an early withdrawal do not know what is at stake. The huge investment in blood and money sacrificed by the US could be squandered.

“There would be regional interventions by neighbouring countries and others. The fate of this country and the whole region could be endangered,” he said.

And this BBC Survey outlines the complexity of Iraqi attitudes.