Just out: The British are Going! The British are Going!

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is slated to present to Parliament the schedule (pronounced SHED-ule) of a phased pull out of the 7,100 British troops still remaining in Iraq.

Blair has gotten a lot of heat being George Bush’s lone ally in the Iraq War. So much so that he has already announced plans to step down as Prime Minister in September.

According to The Houston Chonicle article on this, the plan calls for a complete pullout of British troops by the end of the year. Previously, opposition in Parliament has demanded that all troops be withdrawn from the civil war-torn country by October. However, back then Blair labeled these demands as “deeply irresponsible”.

It’s funny how it is irresponsible to withdraw troops by Halloween, but not a gosh darned bad idea to get them out by Christmas.

Meanwhile it’s full steam ahead to raise America’s in-country troop totals by another 21,000. Although Bush is facing mounting opposition, no back down is in sight.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t especially like all of the aspects of the British governmental system. For example, the House of Lords is really a throwback, in a weakened state in comparison to its heyday, but a throwback nevertheless. But it does seem that from time to time you notice that the majority opinion of British citizens tends to carry more weight with their government than the majority opinion of American citizens in their American counterpart.

In order to really send a message to our leaders, all we have here in America is removal of an executive by impeachment and trial. And they have to have done something really, really bad, like having casual sex with an intern. In Britain they have the “No Confidence” vote. Lose your base or your coalition, and you are out.

Every once in awhile, the British come up with really good ideas that occasionally come in really handy