Yesterday, the Liberal Democrats put forward their policy on disengaging from Iraq. They called for a timetable to be set for the complete withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, naming October 2007 as the target month.

To be fair, the Liberal Democrats have held a consistent line on being against our joint invasion of Iraq with the US in 2003. In contrast, the majority of Conservative MPs supported the government in invading Iraq. At the time, if I had been am MP, I would have also supported the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

British public opinion has always appeared sceptical about the government’s policy on Iraq; the famous rally in London was a vivid display of significant public dissent. In recent months, US public opinion has also changed to reflect a more suspicious attitude of likely success in Iraq. Most polls in America now indicate a majority in favour of getting out of Iraq soon. There appears minority support for George Bush’s “troop surge”.

It is more than understandable that people have concerns about what we are achieving in Iraq. Daily suicide bombings leading to countless civilian deaths are hardly a sign of imminent success in the democratisation of Iraq. Continuing British and American deaths also contribute to a sense of a seemingly futile situation. The apparent increasing involvement of Syria and Iran in the internal affairs of Iraq hardly bodes well for the medium and longer term.

Despite all this bad news, my problem with the Liberal Democrats’ position is that it advocates the British government abrogating responsibility for the current crisis within Iraq. I do not believe it is right for a British political party to demand the removal of British forces before the stabilisation of Iraq has been achieved. The Iraqi government has not called for the immediate withdrawal of troops, indeed it has indicated that the presence of foreign forces is a necessity to maintain what control they presently have. To set a date to leave now would be plain wrong. To be engaging in private discussions with the US government in order to formalise a plan to disengage slowly over the next year or so would be a sign of responsible government.

For the Liberal Democrats to call for a fixed date of withdrawal is to go against what is morally right and that which is expected of us by the democratically-elected government of Iraq. As IDS argued yesterday, “If we cut and run before they (the Iraqis) have time to build up their forces, it is shame on us. I do not think that a British Government worthy of the name should possibly be allowed to cut and run.” To advocate flying home to relative safety whilst leaving others to suffer is not a policy I would be proud of supporting.