UK's Brown Makes Surprise Trip to Iraq

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British Finance Minister Gordon Brown flew into Iraq for the first time on Saturday to surprise thousands of British troops and boost his credentials for taking over from Prime Minister Tony Blair.

``I am here to see and pay tribute to the important work our forces are doing and to meet with Iraqi ministers to discuss the challenges ahead,'' Brown told Reuters.

``We are committed to supporting the Iraqis in building a democratic nation which brings security and prosperity to its people and plays a full part in the region and the world economy,'' he added.

Brown pledged an extra 100 million pounds to help with the economic regeneration of the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-iraq-brown.html

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1. Thanks for posting

The reason why this matters is that Gordon Brown is the odds on favourite to become the next leader of the Labour party and the next PM when Tony Blair makes way sometime in the next year.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Brown makes first visit to Iraq

18 November 2006

Gordon Brown is making his first visit to Iraq and has promised an extra £100m ($188m) over three years to help rebuild the country's economy.

After meeting UK troops near Basra, he praised their "tremendous morale" and the "work they have been doing in often very difficult circumstances".

Mr Brown is expected to discuss Iraq's economy with senior ministers.

Earlier, Tony Blair publicly agreed that violence in Iraq since the US-led 2003 invasion had been a "disaster".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6160626.stm


Oops, must be time for Tony to give up the keys to 10 Downing Street. Especially, now that he's admitted Iraq is a disaster. Quick, send in damage control.