British Army out of Iraq?

The chief of the British Army, who triggered a political storm by calling for troops to withdrawn from Iraq "soon", has denied attacking government policy, insisting he meant a phased pullout of British forces over two or three years.

Gen. Richard Dannatt said comments published in London's Daily Mail newspaper were misinterpreted as an assault on Prime Minister Tony Blair's commitment to long-term involvement in the violence-ravaged country.

In his Daily Mail interview, Sir Richard, who took on his role in August, also said planning for what happened after the initial successful war military offensive was "poor, probably based more on optimism than sound planning".

He said: "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."