Agency, govt backpedaling on SDF dispatch to Iraq

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20031122wo01.htm

With the security situation deteriorating in Iraq, the government is groping for ways to send members of the Ground Self-Defense Force to Iraq this year by reducing the size of the advance unit to be dispatched.

In light of the continuing insurgency in Iraq, the government is looking to reinforce security for SDF units to be dispatched on the basis of a report from a special investigation team that is in Iraq evaluating the situation.

The Defense Agency originally planned to dispatch an advance force of about 150 engineers who would set up a base in Iraq. However, the agency said it was having difficulty procuring equipment such as ballistic-resistant jackets before an official decision regarding the troop movement could be made. Therefore, the agency concluded it would not be ready to dispatch the advance guard as planned and suggested scaling back the number of the advance guard to be dispatched by year's end to 30.

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Look's as if it's going to be Dubya and Tony by themselves before too long. Give 'em a flack jacket and a helmet snd let them go really play the heros they purport to be. See how long we stay there then.