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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (102764)	6/25/2003 12:27:15 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Blair Offers More Troops for Iraq After Killing of 6 Britons By ALAN COWELL - NEW YORK TIMES Damn, Blair is gutty! This is "In your face" to his opposition LONDON, June 25 - After the killing of six British soldiers in disputed circumstances in southern Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged today to maintain Britain's military presence and offered to send reinforcements if commanders on the ground asked for them. Mr. Blair was addressing Parliament just 24 hours after word began to emerge of two attacks on British troops around Majar al Kabir, a small town near Amara in southern Iraq. The killings of six British military policemen were the first known fatalities among British troops since the announced end of hostilities almost two months ago and seemed initially to suggest that the insurgency confronting American troops farther north was spreading. Both Mr. Blair and news reports from the region seemed to suggest, however, that the slayings were part of a more complicated set of circumstances in a town that claimed to have liberated itself from Saddam Hussein even before allied troops arrived there in the war. News agency reports quoted local people as saying the British troops had been killed not by insurgents but by armed civilians incensed at intrusive British weapon searches in their homes. Specifically, British troops in the Shiite Muslim region were said to have offended Islamic beliefs by searching women's quarters and using dogs to enter homes. But when people protested the searches, British troops opened fire, provoking a counterattack, local residents were quoted as saying. British military spokesmen in Iraq denied that version, saying the attack was unprovoked, and one called it "murder." Mr. Blair told Parliament: "There is a background to this in this particular province where the people actually liberated themselves from Saddam, but where there is a background to do with attempts by the British forces to make sure the local population, who regularly carried machine guns and small firearms, were disarmed of those weapons." "There had been problems with that and that may form part of the background to it," Mr. Blair said. He insisted, however, that it was "too early to say" what actually happened. He did not allude to a second attack earlier the same day in the same area where, Britain said on Tuesday, eight British soldiers were wounded in an apparent ambush and a subsequent attack on a helicopter carrying reinforcements. Mr. Blair was asked whether the killings, which represented one of the deadliest days for allied forces in Iraq since the end of the formal fighting, would persuade Britain to pull out of Iraq. "Despite the terrible events of yesterday," Mr. Blair replied, "the people of Iraq now have the prospect of hope for the future, the prospect of a proper, prosperous and democratic country." "Even at this moment in time, it is particularly important that we make sure that we redouble our efforts to bring stability to that country because this is the surest way to bring stability to the rest of the world." Mr. Blair said British commanders had insisted that the 14,000 British troops in the region were a big enough force. "But should they require more troops of course we will make sure that those troops are available." Mr. Blair also said that some 19 or 20 other countries were planning to contribute several thousand men to duties in Iraq. Earlier, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said some 19,000 troops in Britain who had been deployed on potential firefighting duties could be redeployed to Iraq. The killings stunned Britons who had become used to news reports of Britons being on good terms with Iraqi civilians, even patrolling without body armor or helmets. British authorities identified the six dead soldiers as being aged between 20 and 41 with the rank of corporal or sergeant. They were all from a unit based in Colchester, northeast of London. nytimes.com

To: michael97123 who wrote (102764)	6/25/2003 12:29:23 PM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

-- Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades agree to 3-month cessation of attacks against Israelis, senior Palestinian officials said. When this becomes official, both sides should take the first week to have one big party. Can you imagine as an Israeli being able to sit at a restaurant and have a bite to eat without fear. And for the Pals israeli withdrawls to pre I2 positions. Terror as policy makes no sense at all. And it is totally immoral. And the Israeli harshness is a reaction to it. No, occupation is bad too but terror turned occupation into something much worse for Palestinians. mike