So Gordon trips off to Iraq to make an announcement. What a waste of money.

More spin, and perfectly timed to knock the Tory Party conference off the front page.

Has Gordon really kicked spin into touch - I think not.

Crispin Lyden-Cowan, London, UK

This is madness- either we are in or we are out.

Carl Teper, Paris, France

everythings good with pulling out troops and bringing them home, but is this another sort of false hope. i mean hundreds of soldiers have died aleady, how many more? or is this just another promise just like tony blair's?

hina, dewsbury, united kingdom

Bill Rees if you check with the rest of the media (including the BBC) you will see Brown has (so far) lost out today "big time" in the war of spin.

Rather than get distracted by stunts the Tory leadership last week focussed on finalising their policies and planning a very successful conference.

It looks like it was a silly mistake for Brown to make the inaccurate troop announcement outside Parliament which Brown will come to regret. What has made it worse for Brown is that he is away from the UK without a strong deputy who could attempt to challenge the attack on Brown.

Slam, Edinburgh, UK

Regarding Brown's trip, it is called Grandstanding, Upstaging the Opposition, Playing Politics with people's lives. If quizzed on this, Brown would claim it was the only date he could fit into his so busy schedule (whilst not defeating foot & mouth, blue tongue disease, floods, world education, world poverty and all those other little things a PM is responsible for). In reality, this trip will have been planned for weeks or months and deliberately designed to grab the headlines from the Conservative Conference - that is what it is about!

Richard, Kidderminster, England

Bringing home hopeful brown voters. Let me guess, they will be stationed in marginal election wards, in order to help brown get elected.

Matthew, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

A complete publicity stunt. I feel sure there will be an election now in the coming weeks. What happened to Brown's promises of substance over style? Shame on him.

steve , ilkley,

A spectacular example of Brown's abuse of the power of being in government and consequently yet another shining example of why he and his party should no longer be the government. Labour have simply been in for too long. It's time for a change.

Dan, Milton Keynes,

"I believe that by the end of the year the British forces that have been 5,500 can be reduced to 4,500 and that by the end of the year, we mean by Christmas, 1,000 of our troops can be brought back to the UK and to other purposes,"

"...brought back to the UK and to other purposes" ??

Are 1000 troops going to say over or go back to "other purpose" or /parts of the Middle East (Afghanistan) after enjoying two weeks of Christmas?

Mohammed, London, UK

Oh dear. I just saw Jeremy Paxton questioning a Defence Minister about the supposed 1,000 "pullout"

It appears 500 had been announced previously and are already out of Iraq.

The other 500 apparantly were not in Iraq but in Germany.

Is this what Brown means when he talks about an end to spin?

John Goh, Welwyn Garden City, UK

A 1000 troops out by Christmas says Brown!!! - just so much election spin - 250 were already home and 500 have not even left Germany for Iraq!!!

Perhaps Gordon should try to answer the really difficult question he is trying to cover up as to why his Comprehensive Spending Review to be now announced on Monday has left the MOD trying to find £18bn of cuts over 4 years - yes that's right £18 Billion.He has done the positive spin of saying we will have a new Nuclear Deterrent and two carriers but without giving the MOD any more money. How many ships and troops and other equipment will our "Brave troops" now not get when they have got to stay in Iraq for 2 years longer than forecast and in Afghanistan for goodness knows how long!!!

Pete Young, London, UK

As revealed on Newsnight the additional 500 can't come home because they haven't left yet. So your first paragraph is incorrect, they can't be withdrawn.

Ted, Salisbury,

What about the troops you sent that wont be coming home Gordon? Some of us are not fooled by your ingenuous gesture politics.

Steve P, Leeds, England

Brownian Motion - "This universality [of Brownian Motion] is closely related to the universality of the normal distribution. In both cases, it is often mathematical convenience rather than the accuracy of the models that motivates their use." (acknowledgement to Wikipedia)

Arch W., Perth, Scotland

I am pleased to see a BBC report that at least touches on the fact that our mandate-less (Ed?) Prime Minister has made the most egregious and cynical political move in the last 10 years with his visit to Baghdad during the Conservative conference. There is a fact he has to understand - Our armed services are not political pawns!
I hope the country sees this stunt for what it is, and that they realise the era of New Labour spin has only intensified, albeit with a much less convincing figurehead.

Mat, rotherham,

Brown seems to be winning the war on spin to. Cameron two spinners who are paid £500,000 a year seem to be letting Cameron down and not making their mark.Why did they not come up with a stunt when New Labour had their conference.If Cameron can not win the spin and PR war he will never stand a chance against Brown in an election.
After all Cameron has PR running in his blood.

Bill Rees, Truro, Cornwall

What a coincidence, the same day that David Cameron speaks at the Conservative party conference Brown announces a troop pull out. No more spin Gordon? As an Ex-soldier I can’t describe how disgusted I am that you use troops lives as cover for your political incompetence. Roll on the general election.

John, London, UK

What a coincidence. After consistently supporting Teflon Tony's Middle East adventures, Gordon suddenly decides we need to bring (some of ) our troops home for Christmas - the fact that he announces this in the middle of the Conservative Conference is a pure happenstance!

All pigs refuelled and ready to fly!

Mike Bibby, St Albans, England - not EU

Very true..the media-who seem to have lost all critical distance with regards to the current gouvernment-talk of the "Brown Bounce" (exagerated or not) and convinently forget that the current Prime Minister did not make a pricipaled stand against the war in Iraq, like the late Robin Cook; on the contratry, Gordon Brown was by Blair's side while we invaded Iraq.
Now we are puling out and abondoning the Iraqis to their fate: Sadam might have been a murderous dictator, but is the power of various militia over ordinary citizens' lives and the threat of civil war that we are ultimatly responsible for any better?

A. Diana, Toulouse, South-West France

There is no way Brown can say he was not involved in the decision to invade Iraq and the subsequent handling of it. To say and it was all down to Tony Blair is ludicrous. The fact that he is trying to say "not me Guv" is deplorable. The voters will not forget. This smells of the sort of deceit we have been exposed to and can expect in the future from the Master of stealth taxes.

Brian Girling, Fareham, hants

And he suddenly had this change of heart just when the Conservatives were holding their conference - what a surprise!

Mike Bibby, St Albans, England - not EU

Brown, the consummate politician. Now that he is under some pressure to call an election he is trying to get out of the Iraq war ( which Blair & he signed up for ) in an attempt to distance himself from the mess his predecessor left behind.
If we get another Labour government we will be back to the tax and waste policies of the last ten years.

Rick, London, England