Are they leaving then?

With quite a lot going on, perhaps it's not surprising that a statement by Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki that

British combat forces are no longer needed to maintain security in southern Iraq and should leave the country

isn't top of the headlines, but it is a pretty dramatic one. It raises some huge questions that aren't being answered today. Why are troops not leaving now? Are they staying only so that Gordon Brown doesn't have to have an inquiry? Will an inquiry happen when "combat" troops leave and only a few hundred are left training - or will Brown use this as an excuse never to hold an inquiry?