 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Planned Cut For British Troop Numbers In Iraq Postponed: Report
London (AFP) Sep 19, 2005 A recent upsurge in violence in Iraq has prompted Britain's government to shelve plans to reduce the number of its troops serving in the country, a report said. There was now no official target date for British soldiers to leave Iraq amid fears it is heading into full-scale civil war, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper said. The original plan, never announced by Defence Secretary John Reid, would have seen thousands of British troops returned home by next month, with the remainder home by mid-2006, the paper said. However, citing anonymous military sources, the report said that instead, troops would stay indefinitely in what some in the military believe is a situation becoming the equivalent of the Vietnam War. According to the paper, ministers are also set to announce the deployment of around 6,000 soldiers from the army's 7th Armoured Brigade into Iraq for a second tour of duty. The brigade fought in Iraq during the US-led invasion of the country in March 2003. The dispatch of the brigade contradicts a government plan drawn up two months ago by Reid to gradually reduce Britain's military presence, around 8,500 personnel based mainly around the southern city of Basra. One serving British Army brigadier, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the paper that the military was increasingly worried about the long-term commitment to Iraq. "The return of the 7th Armoured Brigade to Iraq is a significant benchmark," he said. "There is a real head-in-the-sand mentality as to how we're going to extricate ourselves from this mess. There is no endgame to the problems in Iraq." More than 200 Iraqi Shiites have been killed this week alone in attacks by Sunni extremists, with a car bomb killing at least 30 on the outskirts of Baghdad on Saturday. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century
New Year Week Of Blasts In Baghdad
Washington (UPI) Jan 10, 2006The New Year started not merely with a bang in Iraq but with lots of them: A wave of renewed insurgent terror bombings drove civilian casualties sky high while increased fatalities were inflicted on U.S. combat forces. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
