While I think it's a bit premature to even suggest the last Telic isn't far away I do begin to wonder when I see things like this.....
Apologies for the cut and paste, it's an AOL news page report.
British, Australian and Japanese troops will transfer security responsibilities in southern Iraq to Iraqi authorities next week, and will withdraw from the area soon after, according to a news report.
At a defence meeting of the three countries last week in London, British officials told their counterparts that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would announce the transfer of security authority in southern Iraq on Tuesday, Kyodo News agency reported, citing coalition sources.
London would then immediately announce the pullout of its forces from the southern province of al-Muthanna, and Japan and Australia would follow with a similar announcement on Wednesday, Kyodo said.
The report carried no official comment from London. It came after Japan's top government spokesman denied Tokyo had a set a date to withdraw its non-combat troops from southern Iraq.
"We are not aware that the security responsibilities will be transferred to Iraqi authorities on a specific date or in a specific province," he told reporters on Friday, adding that Japan had not set a specific date for withdrawing its troops from the country.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso hinted at an early withdrawal. "We feel that the conditions are falling in place for an early withdrawal," he told reporters on Friday.
And Iraq's deputy prime minister Salam Zikam Ali al-Zubaie said that Iraq had an agreement to take over security responsibilities from foreign forces in southern Iraq this month.
"There is an agreement to take over the security responsibilities from the British, Australian and Japanese forces in southern Iraq during this month," al-Zubaie said.
"There is such a plan and such news is not based on nothing. We hope that the Iraqi security forces will live up to their duties there. It is the dream of all Iraqis that our forces will handle security issues all over Iraq."