UK: Troop move 'not political'
 |  British troops on patrol in Basra |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 British officials are considering a U.S. request to redeploy troops outside of southern Iraq. CNN's Robin Oakley reports (October 18)
|
|
LONDON, England -- Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has dismissed opposition claims that a redeployment of British troops in Iraq would be a "political gesture" to the White House ahead of next month's U.S. presidential election.
British defense officials are considering a U.S. request to redeploy UK troops outside their area of operation in southern Iraq, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons on Monday.
"The U.S. request is for a limited number of UK ground forces to be made available to relieve U.S. forces, to allow them in turn to participate in further operations elsewhere in Iraq to maintain the continuing pressure on terrorists," Hoon said.
Hoon said Britain had not been asked to send troops to Baghdad city or Falluja.
He said Britain would deploy a reconnaissance team Tuesday to the area where British troops are required, and that the chief of defense staff was expected to make a recommendation "by the middle of the week."
Monday's announcement came on the same day Australia said it had no plans to send extra troops to Iraq -- despite a United Nations request for more manpower for Iraq's scheduled elections in January. (Full story)
Australia already has about 850 non-combat troops in the region. Military spokesman Chris Kenney said Monday Australian was supporting the U.N. presence by providing equipment and training for a contingent from Fiji.
In Britain Conservative defense spokesman Nicholas Soames said the proposed deployment would leave "a big capability gap" in the country's sector and would represent "a fundamental change" in UK operations in Iraq.
In a weekend letter to Hoon, Soames suggested the redeployment would be a "political gesture" to shore up U.S. President George W. Bush ahead of the November 2 election.
But Hoon denied the request was political or had anything to do with the timing of the U.S. election.
"I want to make clear that the request is a military request," he said. "And although it is linked to elections, it is not the U.S. elections but with efforts to create the best possible security situation in which to hold the Iraq elections in January."
CNN European Political Editor Robin Oakley said that from Hoon's statement, the British government appeared "inclined to accede to the U.S. request."
Lawmakers also questioned Hoon on reports the United States wants a British battalion -- possibly the elite First Battalion Black Watch -- to move from the southern port city of Basra to the Baghdad area.
Hoon refused specifically to confirm that the troops would come from the Black Watch regiment. But he responded several times to MPs' questions asking if the regiment would have to stay beyond its routine six-month tour of duty, scheduled to finish by the end of the year.
He said the Black Watch were "determined to carry through this operation, should it be decided they participate."
Opposition Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said earlier he did not understand why the U.S. military, which has some 130,000 troops in Iraq, might need further support from 650 British soldiers.
"It is hard to see why that constitutes a crucial contribution in the American point of view," he told the BBC.
Kennedy, who opposed the Iraq war, said Britain should be considering withdrawing from Iraq.
"This, far from being an exit strategy, runs the risk of being an ensnarement strategy that drags Britain further into the mire," he added.
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond made the same point over the weekend in an interview with the BBC.
"Are we seriously expected to believe that with 130,000 soldiers in Iraq that the Americans, for military reasons, need 650 Black Watch to protect their backs in Iraq while they storm Falluja?"
"I don't want to see a single Black Watch soldier sacrificed and jeopardized for a political gesture from Tony Blair to George W. Bush."
Maj. Charlie Mayo, a British military spokesman in Basra, told The Associated Press that "no plans have been made for the First Battalion Black Watch to go to Baghdad or Falluja."
Reports have suggested the Americans want the British to take over duties in Iskandariya, 25 miles south of Baghdad, releasing the 24th Marine Expeditionary Force for other operations, the UK's Press Association reported.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
