- (The Guardian, Los Angeles Times) -- Britain's Ministry
of Defence is resisting US pressure to extend its sphere of military
influence
in Iraq to some of the most violent parts of the country, including the
capital, Baghdad.
-
- Britain is being leaned on by the US military, although
no formal request has been issued, to provide a new headquarters unit in
south-central Iraq to replace Spanish troops being pulled out by the new
Madrid government. That would take British troops into the troubled town
of Najaf, where the radical Shiite imam Moqtada al-Sadr is holed up.
-
- Some British military figures have also been told that
British forces may be asked to undertake a "hearts and minds"
operation inside Baghdad, now an exclusively US sphere of influence.
-
- Britain's Ministry of Defence said all sorts of options
were being considered, but played down suggestions that a large increase
in the 8000-strong British contingent was likely.
-
- British defence sources said they were unenthusiastic
about filling the vacuum created by the quicker than expected departure
of Spanish troops, triggered by the election victory of the anti-war
Socialist
government.
-
- The Opposition Conservative Party's defence spokesman,
Nicholas Soames, has written to the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, demanding
urgent clarification of a report in The Washington Post that Britain is
being asked to extend its remit in the wake of the Spanish pullout.
-
- Mr Blair said at a news conference on Thursday that there
were no plans to increase the size of the British forces in Iraq.
-
- As pressure came on Britain to extend its remit, US
marines
encircling the flashpoint city of Falluja, west of Baghdad, warned that
they planned to attack within days if insurgents did not comply with a
ceasefire agreement and relinquish their heavy weapons.
-
- Lieutenant-General James Conway, commander of the 1st
Marine Expeditionary Force, said only a paltry amount of outdated, mostly
useless weaponry had been turned in since the accord was reached on Monday
between US officials and a group of Iraqi intermediaries.
-
- "It was junk," General Conway said on Thursday
of the pile of mostly inoperative weapons turned over to marines at two
checkpoints.
-
- The marines are now questioning whether the Iraqi
negotiators
have sufficient clout with the insurgents and are also growing impatient
as the fighters continue to engage them in skirmishes at the edge of the
city.
-
- Officials in Baghdad stressed that further delays could
result in a new battle likely to cost the lives of many insurgents, marines
and civilians.
-
- In Washington, US officials have offered Congress their
most detailed explanation yet of US plans for turning power over to Iraqis
after June 30, saying that while its sovereignty will be limited, the
transitional
government will be in charge of most ministries, oil revenue and an
international
development fund.
-
- The US would also seek another United Nations Security
Council resolution on Iraq, the officials said, in the hope of winning
more international support for the rebuilding effort.
-
- However, three days of Administration testimony,
including
closed-door briefings from the National Security Council adviser,
Condoleezza
Rice, also made it clear that security would remain the responsibility
of the US.
-
- Copyright © 2004 The Sydney Morning Herald.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/23/1082616331725.html
|