UK troops worsen problems in Iraq

In an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper, General Richard Dannatt criticised post-war planning for the 2003 US-led invasion and said the British presence in Iraq also hurt British security interests abroad, which British Prime Minister Tony Blair has repeatedly denied.

The public criticism by Dannatt, extraordinary for a serving officer of his rank, was seized on by critics of the war in Iraq and Dannatt conducted a series of television and radio interviews on Friday trying to calm the storm he had triggered.

He insisted he had said "nothing new or noteworthy" and was just repeating policy.

"It was never my intention to have this hoo ha, which people have thoroughly enjoyed overnight, trying to suggest there is a chasm between myself and the prime minister," he told BBC radio.

In the Daily Mail interview he said: "I think history will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful war fighting phase was poor, probably based more on optimism than sound planning."

"I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them."

Britain should "get ... out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems," he said.

In his subsequent radio and television interviews, he said he was not suggesting an immediate withdrawal.

"I'm a soldier. We don't do surrender. We don't pull down white flags. We're going to see this through," he said.

"But we've got to get on with it. We can't be there for years and years."

His remark that British forces exacerbate violence in some parts of Iraq was simply stating the obvious, he said. He added that in places, like Basra, they were still providing benefits.

But he also said ambitions had to be lowered from the expectations of a few years ago, and were now mainly focused on keeping Iraq from splitting up.