U.K. Official: Iraqi Army 'Coming Along'

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons in central London in this image taken from TV Wednesday Oct. 18, 2006. Prime Minister Tony Blair defended Britain's continued presence in Iraq against sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers Wednesday, saying it would be a "gross dereliction of our duty" to withdraw before Iraqi troops were able to take over security. (AP Photo/PA) (AP)

LONDON -- Iraqi police and military should be ready to take on much of the work being done by U.S.-led forces within a year, a British government minister said Saturday.

Another governing-party lawmaker, however, warned it was unlikely Iraq could remain a single, united country once U.S. and British troops pull out.

"The Iraqi army is coming along very well," Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "I would have thought that certainly in a year or so there will be adequately trained Iraqi soldiers and security forces _ policemen and women and so on _ in order to do the job," Howells added.

"I would be very surprised if there was not that kind of capacity taking on a lot of the work done by the coalition forces."

However, Howells warned "it's going to take a lot of blood yet" before Iraq becomes a stable democracy.

British officials have spoken in recent months of cutting their troop levels in Iraq from 7,000 to between 3,000 and 4,000 by mid-2007, but no firm date for withdrawal has been set.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has been under growing pressure to set a timetable for a pullout. Last week, the country's top soldier Gen. Richard Dannatt called for British troops to be withdrawn "sometime soon" and said their presence was provoking rather than preventing violence.

Blair said this week that it would be a "gross dereliction of our duty" to withdraw before Iraqi forces were able to take responsibility for security.

Labour Party lawmaker Doug Henderson, a former defense minister, said in comments reported Saturday that Iraq would probably break into at least three countries _ Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish _ once allied troops have withdrawn.

"I doubt if Iraq can be retained as one nation in the future," Henderson told GMTV television in an interview to be broadcast Sunday. "I hope it can be, but I think it's very unlikely that that will be the case."

Excerpts from the interview were released late Saturday by the broadcaster.