The British Cabinet risked the wrath of Labour Party backbenchers on Thursday by endorsing the dispatch of 650 Black Watch troops into a high-risk United States-controlled area south of Baghdad. The troops will move north shortly, and will be replaced by Scots Guards now based in Cyprus.
The decision means the United Kingdom will increase the number of troops it has in Iraq by 600, though the prime minister on Wednesday pledged the Black Watch troops would be home by Christmas. Britain’s current military strength in Iraq is 8 500.
The troops in Cyprus are already on standby to fly to the war zone, but on Wednesday night it emerged that British military commanders had also prepared plans to send up to 1 300 troops to Iraq in the run-up to that country’s elections, planned for January.
UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon was given a military endorsement for the redeployment by the chief of the defence staff, General Michael Walker on Wednesday, after a report from a reconnaissance team in Iraq.
Ministerial sources will defend the decision on the basis that the request came as much from the Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi, as from the Americans. They dismissed suggestions that the decision had been made last week.
The movement is in part sought by the US to fill in for American troops who are due to move to Falluja and other towns at the centre of the Sunni insurgency. Although the British troops will move shortly, it is unlikely that an expected attack on Falluja will occur before the US presidential election on November 2.
The absence of a pre-election attack on Falluja may reassure some backbenchers who feared the deployment was part of an attempt to shore up George W Bush ahead of polling day. The chief whip, Hilary Armstrong, has given No 10 a blunt warning about the degree of unhappiness on the backbenches.
Government sources also argued that Britain could not criticise heavy-handed counter-insurgency tactics by the US and not take on some of the toughest parts of Iraq. They said democratic elections could be secured and pointed to a two-day conference of foreign ministers from the Arab world and G8 scheduled for November 22 and 23 at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The conference will support the elections, and may discuss a revived plan for Muslim troops to enter Iraq.
But backbenchers fear the move will drag British troops into a quagmire at a time when many would prefer Britain to set a date for them to leave.
Half of the 36 pro-war Labour MPs surveyed by The Guardian this week said they had not changed their mind about their decision to vote in favour of the conflict last year. Six said they had changed their minds, with four saying they did not know. A further eight declined to comment.
MPs expressed similar views on the redeployment of troops. Just under half of those surveyed (15) said they supported the changes, with six voicing opposition. Eight expressed doubts but declined to rule out supporting the move, while two said they were unsure. Five would not comment.
Explaining on Wednesday the need to move British troops, Prime Minister Tony Blair said: ”We are about to enter a period of increased activity in Iraq. This has nothing to do with the the American elections. It has everything, however, to do with the Iraqi elections in January.” — Â