BREAKING: Britain to withdraw 1,500+ troops from Iraq

BREAKING: Word on the street (both CNN, and the BBC reporting) is that British PM Tony Blair will announce the withdraw of 1,500+ British troops from Iraq in the near future.

Looks like Britain is waking up, still waiting on you, President Bush.

UPDATE: Another 1,500+ British troops could pulled from Iraq by Christmas. The total number of British soldiers in Iraq is only about 7,100 - so the total 3,000 expected to be pulled by Christmas would amount to almost half the entire British force in the country.

UPDATE #2: From the BBC:

Mr Blair is expected to say hundreds of troops will return from Basra within weeks with more to follow later.

Some 7,000 UK troops are currently serving in Iraq and about 1,500 are expected to return within weeks.

UPDATE #3: Maybe as many as 1,600 in the first withdraw? Via the Financial Times:

Tony Blair is to announce on Wednesday that Britain will cut the number of UK troops stationed in Iraq by about 1,600 – the first time the UK’s military presence in the country has been cut since the 2003 invasion.

The Financial Times has learnt that Mr Blair will tell MPs that the current UK contingent in Iraq – numbering 7,100 troops – is to come down to 5,500. The reduction in troop numbers will pave the way for Iraqi forces to begin taking control of the city of Basra.

Blair is already trying to "save face" with his master in Washington, DC too it appears:

However, the announcement will be watched with anxiety by politicians across the political divide in the US. Britain’s troop reduction comes as President George W. Bush has started to commit the US to a “surge” of US troop numbers in Iraq, a move contested by the Democrats in Congress.

Mr Blair, who on Tuesday spoke with Mr Bush about Wednesday’s announcement, will insist that there has been no opposition from Washington to the British move.

Just as a side note, and I really shouldn't even mention this, but perhaps some of you will find the comedy in it as I did, but Fox News is the only one of the three major cable news networks that has yet to cover this development out of the UK this evening. Just what are they reporting on, you ask? Britney Spears, of course!

UPDATE #4: NBC News confirms it:

NBC News' David Gregory reported Tuesday that the White House confirmed Blair's intention to withdraw troops. Blair and Bush spoke about it Tuesday morning, according to NBC.