Thousands of British troops head to Gulf

2.15pm

LONDON - The British government has dramatically beefed up the military force heading for the Gulf, readying 30,000 troops and support personnel for a possible war against Iraq.


The call-up far exceeded expectations.


Defence officials said the mobilisation compared with around 43,000 who took part in the 1991 Gulf War, launched after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.


British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said the land force would include the army's First Armoured Division, the "Desert Rats" Seventh Armoured Brigade and a brigade of paratroopers.


About 120 Challenger battle tanks will be mobilised alongside 150 Warrior armoured fighting vehicles and artillery.


"The total number of personnel involved in this land force will be approximately 26,000," Hoon told the British parliament. "In addition we are already deploying 3 Commando Brigade with around 4,000 personnel including their supporting elements."


Hoon repeated a well-worn line that the call-up did not mean war was inevitable and merely catered for a range of options.


"A decision to employ force has not been taken nor is such a decision imminent or inevitable," he said.


But the minister then added: "I must also emphasise...that the deployment of forces on this scale is no ordinary measure."


The forces will join thousands of US troops and military equipment already moving into the Gulf region to put pressure on Saddam to give up weapons of mass destruction that Britain and the United States say he is harbouring.


One UK official said the troops would largely be in place within a month but would not confirm they would base in Kuwait.


Two weeks ago, Hoon called up reserve forces and earmarked naval ships for the Gulf. Then, he said about 1,500 reservists would initially be mobilised. More will now be called up to support the latest deployment.


The aircraft carrier Ark Royal has already set sail for the region, leading a fleet of 16 ships.


Under a UN resolution hammered out late last year, Saddam must disarm or face "serious consequences". Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday those consequences meant a military strike against Iraq if it defied the resolution.


Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix reports to the UN on January 27 and Prime Minister Tony Blair flies to Washington for war talks with President George W. Bush on February 1.


Straw insisted war remained "a last choice" but said it was important to keep up pressure on Saddam via a military build-up.


Hoon took the same line. "Whilst we want Saddam Hussein to disarm voluntarily, it is evident that we will not achieve this unless we continue to present him with a clear and credible threat of force," he said.


"It is not too late for Saddam Hussein to recognise the will of the international community and respect United Nations' resolutions. Let us all hope that he does."

Meanwhile Saddam said he was not losing any sleep over a possible US invasion of his country.

"I can assure you and put your minds at ease that I rarely find it difficult to sleep," Saddam told senior army officers, including his son Qusay, supervisor of the elite Republican Guards.

"I fall asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow. I don't need sleeping pills, unlike some officials we hear about, and I don't get insomnia like some people do," the 65-year-old president said in the comments carried by the Iraq News Agency.

But Saddam, who has ruled Iraq with an iron fist for over two decades, admitted that sometimes sleep does elude him.

"I sometimes can't sleep when there is an idea going around in my head that I haven't put on paper. But I fall asleep as soon as I've got up to write it down," he said.

State television has shown Saddam in a series of morale- boosting meetings with top officials in recent days.

On Friday he said in a televised speech that US troops would be routed at the gates of Baghdad if they tried to attack the Arab country of 23 million.

Iraqi officials have dismissed any talk of Saddam going into exile to avoid war.

- REUTERS


Herald feature: Iraq