Britain to Add 370 Troops to Iraq, Weighs Sending More

Britain will send an extra 370 troops to Iraq to boost security and firepower and is still considering a larger deployment after the planned June 30 hand-over of power to the Iraqis, the defense minister said Thursday.

There had been speculation for weeks that Britain would send up to 3,000 reinforcements to plug the shortfall left by the retreat of Spanish, Honduran and Dominican forces.

The relatively small deployment comes as Prime Minister Tony Blair faces increasing public opposition to sending more troops and growing rumbles from within his Labor Party that he is too close to President Bush in Iraq policy.

The deployment will boost the number of British troops in Iraq to 8,900, second only to the U.S. contingent of 138,000.

The United States has received little response to its calls for more nations to contribute forces to Iraq to relieve the burden on American troops. In the last two months, the U.S. military has had to extend itself into southern Iraq, where it previously had handed over security duties to coalition allies.

British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon told the House of Commons that ministers were still considering whether more reinforcements would be needed in the months ahead “to support the sovereign interim government of Iraq.”

Some analysts believe that Blair is delaying a more substantial troop announcement until after local and European Parliament elections June 10 or until a U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq is adopted.

An ICM poll published this week found that 66% of Britons opposed sending extra troops.

Hoon said the troop adjustments came at the request of Maj. Gen. Andrew Stewart, who commands British forces in southern Iraq.