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Blair, Cabinet discuss US' troop redeployment request

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Cabinet were meeting yesterday to discuss a US request for British troops to be moved into volatile central Iraq, a proposal that has met strong opposition within the governing Labour Party.

Meanwhile, the senior British commander in Iraq said more British troops could be sent to the country to boost security ahead of elections scheduled for January.

"There may be a request to surge additional forces into Iraq in the run-up to the elections -- that has been discussed," General John McColl was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper. "But it is no more than prudent planning at this stage."

The Ministry of Defense would not comment on the report.

"The military advice is coming in and being considered. The decision process is still ongoing," a spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

US military commanders asked on Oct. 10 for Britain to send a unit currently stationed in southern Iraq to the US-controlled sector further north. British ministers said the move would free up American forces to intensify their attacks on insurgents in Fallujah and other flashpoint areas.

Blair says the government is still considering the request, although officials have said Britain has a duty to support its US ally.

If Cabinet approves the redeployment, it was possible Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon could announce the decision in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon.

The redeployment is opposed by lawmakers who worry British troops will be placed in greater danger, or suspect the move is designed to allow US President George W. Bush to reassure voters that US troops are not alone in Iraq's most volatile areas.

Blair insists any decision will be made on military, not political, grounds.

"This has nothing to do with the American elections. It has everything, however, to do with the Iraqi elections in January," Blair said Wednesday.

Britain has some 9,000 troops in Iraq, operating around the southern port city of Basra. Sixty-eight British soldiers have been killed in Iraq, compared with more than 1,000 US troops.
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