London: In a clear indication of a possible attack on Iraq, the United Kingdom on
January 20 announced deployment of up to 30,000 ground troops to the Gulf.
The deployment will include 120 Challenger tanks and 150 Warrior armoured personnel
carriers, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced in the House of Commons.
The deployment is the most significant step so far in the British military build-up
and far exceeds earlier expectations.
British armoured troops including the Desert Rats, will be now stationed in Kuwait
by the middle of next month.
"The deployment does not mean an inevitable war with Saddam Hussein," Hoon said,
adding the threat of military action would bring weight to ongoing diplomatic
activity.
"None of the steps we are taking represents a commitment of British forces to
military action," he said. "A decision to employ force has not been taken, nor is
such a decision imminent or inevitable."
Aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, and helicopter carrier HMS Ocean are already on
their way to the Gulf.
The package announced include Headquarters 1 (UK) Armoured Division, with support
from 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats), 16 Air Assault Brigade and 102
Logistics Brigade.
Together with marine commandos and paratroopers, it would leave the UK with up to
30,000 members of the armed forces in place for war
Hoon said the deployment would provide "the right group of forces for the sort of
tasks that may be necessary".
Additional reservists would also be called out in the coming weeks to support the
troops, he said.
Hoon had earlier in a newspaper interview said that UN weapons inspectors did not
need to find a "smoking gun" to trigger war
"Clearly we believe there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," he told
the 'Sunday Telegraph'.
Shadow Defence Secretary Bernard Jenkin gave the Tories' full support to the move.
But he posed a series of detailed questions about British troops' preparedness for a
war with Iraq and the objectives of any military action.
PTI
