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http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1026398372699&p=1012571727166 Iraq talk fuelled by Kosovo pull-out By Judy Dempsey in Brussels Financial Times July 11, 2002 -"The US does not hide the fact that it may well need its troops serving in the Balkans to be reduced in number and deployed in the fight against terrorism further afield," said a Nato diplomat. Britain is to withdraw most of its 2,400 troops from Kosovo, fuelling talk it is preparing to provide support to any US military attack against Iraq. A senior Nato official in Brussels said the Ministry of Defence in London "was mentally preparing for new challenges". When asked if this would involve Iraq, he retorted: "Well what do you think?" suggesting that the British Army was readying itself for a possible war in the Middle East. A British diplomat agreed that there would be speculation about future deployments - "plans further east - but not too far east", indicating that he himself was surprised by the suddenness and scale of the withdrawal. British officials insisted, however, that London was withdrawing troops from Kosovo for purely practical reasons. Rumours of US plans for a possible attack on Iraq have been building in Washington for several weeks but the Bush administration has given no information about deployment of troops in the region. "We are reviewing our troops deployed abroad," said a British official. "We are simply overstretched at the moment. We have troops serving in over 80 countries." The extent of the phased withdrawal, expected to begin in a few weeks, has also surprised some of Britain's European allies, particularly France and the Netherlands. Only a few hundred British troops will remain in Kosovo. "The US does not hide the fact that it may well need its troops serving in the Balkans to be reduced in number and deployed in the fight against terrorism further afield," said a Nato diplomat. "What are we to make of the British reductions?" he asked rhetorically. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
