Pressure grows to increase Iraq troop numbers(Guardian)

[MaverickX]

The Tories and the Liberal Democrats joined calls for more back-up for British troops and Tony Blair's special envoy on human rights in Iraq, Ann Clwyd, said she believed more soldiers were needed.

Leaked documents have shown that the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, is pressing for 5,000 more troops to be sent to beef up the existing force of 10,000, mainly based around the southern city of Basra.


The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, who opposed the war in Iraq, also said there should be a "positive response" if additional troops were needed to bolster the safety of soldiers already out there. "In terms of additional British troops, I think that any responsible British government, any responsible parliament whatever views we took about the war - if additional troops from our own country are needed to bolster the safety of our existing troops, then that is something that should be responded to positively," he said.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1036416,00.html

[Barrett808]

1. "Many of the enemy combatant dead were foreign jihadists"

"It was clear before the conflict that Saddam Hussein was likely to have extensive support from terrorist organisations, if not from al-Qaida itself. Many of the enemy combatant dead were foreign jihadists from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Palestine, Morocco and elsewhere."

Huh? How can Bernard Jenkin make this claim?