Blair to pull thousands of troops from Iraq: reports

British Prime Minister Tony Blairis expected toannounce on Wednesday his plans for the withdrawal of thousands of troops from Iraq.

Blair is due to make a statementWednesday at the House of Commons about the 7,100 British troops currentlyserving in Iraq.

The statement will include a new timetable that calls for 1,500soldiersto return home in several weeks, the BBC reported.

Atotal of about 3,000 British soldiers will have left southern Iraq by the end of 2007, if security in the area is sufficient, according to government officials who weren't identified by the BBC.

Previously called withdrawal plans 'irresponsible'

Blair's Downing Street office refused to comment on the BBC report.

As recently as late last month, Blair rejected opposition calls to withdraw British troops by October, calling such a plan irresponsible.

"That would send the most disastrous signal to the people that we are fighting in Iraq. It's a policy that, whatever its superficial attractions may be, is actually deeply irresponsible," Blair said in the House of Commons on Jan. 24.

Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who is likely to succeed Blair by September, has said he hoped several thousand British soldiers would be withdrawn by December.

Reports of the announcement come after U.S. PresidentGeorge W.Bush ordered an increase of 21,000 troops for Iraq as part of a security surge in Baghdad.

Blair and Bush talked by secure video link Tuesday morning, and Bush said Britain's troop cutbacks were "a sign of success" in Iraq.

"The president is grateful for the support of the British forces in the past and into the future," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Washington.

"While the United Kingdom is maintaining a robust force in southern Iraq, we're pleased that conditions in Basra have improved sufficiently that they are able to transition more control to the Iraqis."