UK studying options to boost troops in Iraq
AFP, London
The government of Tony Blair 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 reported yesterday. 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 said. "In return for increased commitment Britain is expected to demand a higher level of influence over how security is managed in Iraq," The Times said. If British forces were 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 quoted Ministry of Defence sources as saying. The Times went on: "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-percent composed of British soldiers. However, the paper said, NATO had ruled out allowing the ARRC to be deployed in Iraq under its auspices. The British currently head the southeastern multinational division with about 8,000 men around Basra, Iraq's second city.
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