[Peace-discuss] brits

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

more lambs for the four and a half billion years silent slaughter, apart 
from on the battlefield, for a certifiable US President's war for oil ...
fxx


http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=1113702002

The Scotsman
October 8, 2002

20,000 UK troops destined for Iraq
Tim Ripley and Foreign Staff


TONY Blair is to authorise the sending of an
expeditionary force of up to 20,000 servicemen and
women to the Middle East for a US-led war against
Iraq.

Senior Whitehall sources said the Prime Ministerís
decision, expected at the end of the month, comes amid
growing concern among defence chiefs at the lack of
strategic direction from the government to allow them
to prepare troops for any mission to Iraq.

Mr Blair kept war planning within a small group of
civil servants and military officers working in the
Cabinet Office to prevent leaks prior to the Labour
Party conference.

"Now the conference is out of the way, the Prime
Minister feels more confident to start winding up
military preparations," said one source. "Up to now,
the line has been that no decisions have been made
about war. This will start to change ."

Last month, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, visited
Donald Rumsfeld, his US counterpart, to offer British
troops for an Iraqi campaign. However, defence sources
said that since then, there had been little feedback
from the US on what type of troops they want and how
they would be used.

The sources said a prompt decision from the government
was needed to allow the army to begin training for
desert warfare. The "big" British contribution would
involve heavy armoured forces to fight alongside US
divisions currently gathering in Kuwait.

An enlarged armoured brigade with Challenger 2 tanks
and Warrior troop carriers will be the core of the UK
force. Most of the units will be drawn from the 1st
Armoured Division and 7th Armoured Brigade, based in
Germany.

Two Scottish regiments, the Black Watch and Scots
Dragoon Guards, are currently assigned to the Desert
Rats Brigade and will play a key role in any desert
deployment. Up until last month, they were on stand-by
for firefighting duty, but were then told to return to
normal military training. Military sources described
this ring-fencing of Germany-based combat units as
prudent contingency planning to allow initial
preparations to be made in the run-up to Mr Blairís
deployment announcement.

A strong RAF contingent is also expected to be sent to
the Middle East to join Tornado squadrons from RAF
Lossiemouth, in Morayshire, and RAF Leuchers, in Fife,
that are already in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on no-fly
zone patrol duty.

President George Bush was last night preparing to make
what White House aides described as his most
comprehensive case yet on the threat posed by Iraq and
why a US-led war on Saddam Husseinís regime may be
necessary.

Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, meanwhile
urged the Iraqi military to defy Saddam if he orders
attacks on US forces: "The message to Iraqi commanders
is, ëThink before you act. You do not have to obey the
orders Saddam Hussein gives you and the United States
takes very seriously the criminal nature of these
acts, particularly acts that would involve the use of
chemical and biological weapons.í"

The US has an estimated 2,400 troops in Oman. About
500 more are based in the United Arab Emirates and the
US navyís 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain. Another 3,300
US soldiers are stationed in neighbouring Qatar, where
the US recently upgraded its al-Udeid air base, the
forward command centre for any US war on Iraq.