Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has
learnt.
The main British combat force in Iraq, about 5,000-strong, will be reduced by
around a third by the end of October during a routine rotation of units.
The news came amid another day of mayhem in Iraq, which saw a suicide bomber
kill at least 23 people and injure 53 in the northern city of Kirkuk. The
victims were queueing to join Iraq's National Guard.
More than 200 people were killed last week in one of the bloodiest weeks since
last year's invasion, strengthening impressions that the country is spinning out
of control.
Yesterday grim footage apparently showing a British engineer kidnapped from a
house in Baghdad last week along with two American colleagues surfaced in a
video released in the Iraqi capital. The group holding the three threatened to
execute them unless Iraqi women prisoners are released from jail.
And last night it was reported that 10 more staff working for an
American-Turkish company had been seized as hostages.
There are now fears that scheduled Iraqi elections in January will have to be
delayed because of the growing instability.
Last week Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said that more troops could be sent
to safeguard the polls if necessary, although Whitehall sources said there was
no guarantee that they would be British.
The forthcoming 'drawdown' of British troops in Basra has not been made public
and is likely to provoke consternation in both Washington and Baghdad. Many in
Iraq argue that more, not fewer, troops are needed. Last week British troops in
Basra fought fierce battles with Shia militia groups.
The reduction will take place when the First Mechanised Infantry Brigade is
replaced by the Fourth Armoured Division, now based in Germany, in a routine
rotation over the next few weeks.
Troop numbers are being finalised, but, military sources in Iraq and in
Whitehall say, they are likely to be 'substantially less' than the current total
in Basra: the new combat brigade will have five or even four battle groups,
against its current strength of six battle groups of around 800 men.
A military spokesman in Basra confirmed the scaling back of the British
commitment.
Currently there are 8,000 British troops in the 14,000-strong 'multinational
division' in southern Iraq, which has responsibility for about 4.5 million
people.
The cuts will occur in the combat elements of the deployment - the 5,000-strong
infantry and armoured brigade that is committed to the provinces of Basra and
Maysan. Four Royal Navy ships will remain in the Gulf.
However, the incoming force will leave its heavy armour, mainly Challenger
tanks, behind, but will be equipped with a unit of Warrior armoured troop
carriers.
Senior officers say the scaling back of the British commitment in Iraq is a sign
of their success in keeping order and helping reconstruction. But both Basra and
Maysan have seen heavy combat recently, with some units sustaining up to 35 per
cent casualties, and remains restive. The al-Mahdi army, which was responsible
for most of the fighting, remains heavily armed.
'Whatever they say, fewer troops mean less capability,' a military expert told
The Observer . 'You need as many boots on the ground as you can get for
low-intensity warfare and peace-keeping operations.'
Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi Prime Minister, will hold talks with Tony Blair
at Chequers tomorrow on security issues, including elections and the
strengthening of border patrols.
News of the troop withdrawal comes at a difficult time for Blair, with the
publication yesterday of leaked documents suggesting that he was warned a year
before the invasion that it could prompt a meltdown.
However Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary and a close ally of Blair, told The
Observer that the Prime Minister still believed that Britain's actions would be
justified by the restoration of democracy 'however difficult and remote a
prospect that seems at the moment, when our headlines are crowded with further
attacks by the insurgents'.
In another embarrassment for the Prime Minister, a draft report from the Iraqi
Survey Group, set up to investigate Saddam Hussein's weapons programme, has
concluded that the former dictator's only chemical or biological armament was a
small amount of poison for use in political killings.
.
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| User: "Jean Guernon" |
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| Title: LIES Leaders vow to defeat Iraq 'evil' Re: Britain to cut troop levelsin Iraq |
22 Sep 2004 04:39:17 AM |
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AK a écrit:
Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has
learnt.
Of course no link, and since only lies can come from you I checked.
The latest issue of the observer is Sept 15.
http://theobserver.com/
J.
.
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| User: "Cardinal Chunder" |
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| Title: Re: LIES Leaders vow to defeat Iraq 'evil' Re: Britain to cut trooplevels in Iraq |
22 Sep 2004 04:53:54 AM |
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Jean Guernon wrote:
AK a écrit:
Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month
despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has
learnt.
Of course no link, and since only lies can come from you I checked.
The latest issue of the observer is Sept 15.
http://theobserver.com/
J.
It would take a reasonably intelligent person a couple of minutes to
find the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
A prediction:
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Gp/mPU4J/p4Uu/xg1L/td7uYdfO+lbXGQHgQ4T+j93wwDK9AP6FtQ2Q0hnXGONg4
3WokNRm3AgGeV6s+LNx711+vbC4/YnJep96rEWcvbsJYvab/bo55pgvDuuJ4iYLk
p+/acRPtz2E7MiDePA==
=uMP3
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| User: "Cuan" |
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| Title: Re: LIES Leaders vow to defeat Iraq 'evil' Re: Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq |
23 Sep 2004 01:57:52 AM |
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On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:53:54 +0100, Cardinal Chunder
<cc@foo.no.spam.xyzabcfghllaa.com> wrote:
Jean Guernon wrote:
AK a écrit:
Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month
despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has
learnt.
Of course no link, and since only lies can come from you I checked.
The latest issue of the observer is Sept 15.
http://theobserver.com/
J.
It would take a reasonably intelligent person a couple of minutes to
find the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
Jean thinks it is everybody else's responsibility to research for him
- he's simply incapable of doing it himself.
.
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| User: "Jean Guernon" |
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| Title: Re: LIES Leaders vow to defeat Iraq 'evil' Re: Britain to cut trooplevels in Iraq |
23 Sep 2004 04:40:42 AM |
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Liar.
J.
Cuan a écrit:
On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:53:54 +0100, Cardinal Chunder
<cc@foo.no.spam.xyzabcfghllaa.com> wrote:
Jean Guernon wrote:
AK a écrit:
Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month
despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has
learnt.
Of course no link, and since only lies can come from you I checked.
The latest issue of the observer is Sept 15.
http://theobserver.com/
J.
It would take a reasonably intelligent person a couple of minutes to
find the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
Jean thinks it is everybody else's responsibility to research for him
- he's simply incapable of doing it himself.
.
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| User: "Cuan" |
|
| Title: Re: LIES Leaders vow to defeat Iraq 'evil' Re: Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq |
25 Sep 2004 03:36:26 AM |
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On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 09:40:42 GMT, Jean Guernon
<jguernon@globetrotter.net> wrote:
Liar.
Prove it.
Cuan a écrit:
On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:53:54 +0100, Cardinal Chunder
<cc@foo.no.spam.xyzabcfghllaa.com> wrote:
Jean Guernon wrote:
AK a écrit:
Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month
despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has
learnt.
Of course no link, and since only lies can come from you I checked.
The latest issue of the observer is Sept 15.
http://theobserver.com/
J.
It would take a reasonably intelligent person a couple of minutes to
find the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
Jean thinks it is everybody else's responsibility to research for him
- he's simply incapable of doing it himself.
.
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|
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|
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| User: "Jean Guernon" |
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| Title: Re: LIES Leaders vow to defeat Iraq 'evil' Re: Britain to cut trooplevels in Iraq |
22 Sep 2004 06:26:15 AM |
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Thank you.
You will note that not one of these "source" is named by name.
Since it is from the Guardian, it remains to be seen.
J.
Cardinal Chunder a écrit:
Jean Guernon wrote:
AK a écrit:
Britain to cut troop levels in Iraq
Jason Burke, chief reporter
Sunday September 19, 2004
The Observer
The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month
despite the
deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer
has
learnt.
Of course no link, and since only lies can come from you I checked.
The latest issue of the observer is Sept 15.
http://theobserver.com/
J.
It would take a reasonably intelligent person a couple of minutes to
find the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1307980,00.html
A prediction:
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Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (MingW32)
jA0EAwMC9Q/qCLP4JWZgyYx8ZK+GA/n0X4c1qxqJtM59HZFmWK4tIF6UvXGJdHIF
Gp/mPU4J/p4Uu/xg1L/td7uYdfO+lbXGQHgQ4T+j93wwDK9AP6FtQ2Q0hnXGONg4
3WokNRm3AgGeV6s+LNx711+vbC4/YnJep96rEWcvbsJYvab/bo55pgvDuuJ4iYLk
p+/acRPtz2E7MiDePA==
=uMP3
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----
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