Britain may move troops nearer Baghdad
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-17 09:03

UK troops in southern Iraq may be moved to more dangerous areas near Baghdad, media reports said on Saturday, a politically charged move military analysts said would mean raising Britain's profile in Iraq significantly.

Up to 650 troops may be moved north to cover for U.S. units battling insurgents in the rebel-held city of Falluja and elsewhere, according to the reports.

British Royal Marine points his rifle during a joint patrol with Iraqi police in the port of the southern city of Basra in a September 23, 2004 file photo, during a search for illegal weapons and oil smugglers. British troops could move nearer Baghdad to cover for U.S. soldiers fighting in Falluja and elsewhere, British media said on Saturday. It would be the first time British troops have operated outside the relatively quiet Basra area in the south. Up to 650 troops would be involved in the move, which would be meant to last for just a few weeks, the BBC said. [Reuters]

Any prospect of a sharp rise in British casualties would be acutely uncomfortable for Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose unpopular decision to join U.S. President George W. Bush in the March 2003 invasion has hit his ratings and divided his party.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is preparing to make a statement to parliament on Monday, newspapers said.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Michael Walker, was resisting the northward deployment.

A Defence Ministry spokesman in London confirmed discussions had taken place with American commanders but said no decision had been taken. "There are always ongoing discussions with our coalition partners," he added.

British troops have until now operated only in the relatively quiet Basra area of southern Iraq, where some 8,000 British soldiers are stationed.

The media reports said any northern deployment would last only a few weeks and might involve the Black Watch regiment.

In Basra, a British military spokesman said requests for help from other areas were not unusual. But, asked if 650 troops might be involved, he said: "That is not the sort of request we get on a regular basis".

MORE CLARITY DEMANDED

Military analysts said such a request for help underlined the scale of the problems facing the Americans.

"It probably points to the difficulty of the United States in getting enough troops over to Iraq -- we're up against the limits of U.S. military power," said military analyst Charles Heyman of Janes World Armies.

"There's no doubt it would be an escalation in the profile of British troops in Iraq."

Since the Iraq war began, 68 British soldiers have died, compared with over 1,000 American troops.

Nicholas Soames, defence spokesman for the opposition Conservative Party, demanded more clarity from the Defence Ministry on the role of British troops in Iraq.

If British soldiers did more in Iraq, they should take a bigger role in planning operations and there must be careful coordination with U.S. forces and clear rules of engagement, he told BBC radio.

Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the BBC: "the real risk of sending a British battalion into the U.S sector is that our troops could become associated in Iraqi minds with U.S. methods."

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