Blair Knows When To Quit

The thing I love most about the British, apart from their rock bands and gorgeous actresses (Kate Winslet is hot!!), is that they know when to quit. The American Revolution? They surrendered when they knew it was a lost cause. Fort McHenry? As soon as the Brits realized it was impregnable, they gave up trying to take it. The Brits knew when to let Canada and Australia go, and they knew when to get out of India. They knew they couldn't keep Hong Kong forever, and they returned it to the Chinese gracefully. So it comes as no surprise to me that Tony Blair, who began his premiership withdrawing from Hong Kong, is significantly reducing the number of British troops in southern Iraq to an almost symbolic force, realizing that the United Kingdom has done all it could do for the Iraqis. The Bush administration, not even realizing all it has done to the Iraqis even as it plans to increase American troop numbers in Iraq, greets this news as a positive step on the basis that the Iraqi people are in a stronger position to take more responsiblity for their own affairs. Oh, really? Bear in mind that the U.K. has administered to Basra, a relatively calmer place than the Detroit-on-the-Tigris that is Baghdad, where our service personnel are. If they've given up on Basra, what does that say about our efforts in Baghdad?

God save the Queen. And Helen Mirren too. :-D