Prime Minister Tony Blair skipped the first government-led debate on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq since 2004 on Wednesday, but rejected an opposition call to withdraw troops from Iraq by October, The Associated Press reported. Blair chose not to attend the parliamentary session dissecting Iraqi policy _ sidestepping the spotlight on the deeply unpopular war. But, immediately before the debate began, he branded as «deeply irresponsible» a call from the opposition Liberal Democrats for a troop withdrawal. «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 during his weekly appearance in the House of Commons. Blair said he would report to lawmakers on future strategy following the completion of Operation Sinbad, a joint British and Iraqi mission targeting police corruption and militia influence in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Blair said Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi had cautioned against setting a timetable for troop withdrawal during talks in London on Jan. 15.
