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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| UK considers Iraq troops boost: report | |
| 2004-04-26 | |
| The British Government has prepared a series of options aimed at boosting the number of British troops in Iraq to make up for the withdrawal of the Spanish contingent, The Times reports. The options "range from sending 1,500 to 2,000 troops to fill the gaps left by the Spanish, to taking over command of a second multinational division in central south Iraq," the daily says. "In return for increased commitment, Britain is expected to demand a higher level of influence over how security is managed in Iraq." If British forces are to be deployed further north, around flashpoints like the holy city of Najaf, "one option for ministers was for Britain to take over command of the central south division currently led by a Polish general," the paper quotes Ministry of Defence sources as saying. The paper continues: "One suggestion is that Britain could ask NATO to allow the British led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) headquarters in Germany to be released to take over command from the Poles". The ARRC, headed by Lieutenant General Richard Dannatt, is 60 per cent composed of British soldiers. However, the paper says NATO has ruled out allowing the ARRC to be deployed in Iraq under its auspices. The British currently head the south-eastern multinational division with about 8,000 personnel around Basra, Iraq's second city. "Defence sources acknowledged that the British appeared to be the only ones capable of expanding their forces level" alongside the 135,000 American troops in Iraq, the broadsheet reports.
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| Posted by:Steve White |