Front page news item in today's Independent:
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MILITARY RESISTS SENDING MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ 'QUAGMIRE'
Defence chiefs are resisting calls for British troops to be sent tojoin
American forces in Baghdad because they could be "sucked into a
quagmire".
Although the Ministry of Defence's official position is that sending
units to the Iraqi capital would risk "overstretch", senior
officers are believed to have told Tony Blair such a deployment would
inevitably mean British soldiers getting caught up in the rising tide of
anti-American violence.
Military commanders privately accept that if sufficient pressure is
brought to bear by Washington, Downing Street may feel obliged to send
British troops to Baghdad.
The US officially requested two weeks ago that the British Army's 16th
Air Assault Brigade be sent to Baghdad. Defence chiefs rejected thle
request but have since been under pressure from Downing Street to
reconsider.
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