Britain to Nearly Double Its Troop Strength in Gulf

Britain will send 14,000 more troops and additional tanks, aircraft and ships to the Persian Gulf, nearly doubling the number of British troops there to 30,000 by year’s end, Defense Minister Tom King said Thursday.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, speaking after King’s announcement and just a few hours after she announced her resignation, told Parliament that time is running out for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to remove his troops from Kuwait.

“The time is fast approaching when the world community will have to take more decisive action to uphold international law and compel Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait,” she said.

King told Parliament that the additional brigade will include an armored regiment of Challenger tanks, two armored infantry battalions with Warrior fighting vehicles, an armored reconnaissance squadron, a Royal Artillery field regiment, engineers and other supporting services.

“The government has today decided to deploy an extra brigade, a divisional headquarters and supporting arms. They will join the 7th Armored Brigade in Saudi Arabia to form the 1st Armored Division,” King said.

He said that Lynx anti-tank helicopters, support helicopters and two minesweeping vessels will be sent along with the additional brigade.

In announcing the deployment, King said that it is the “clearest possible message” to Hussein that the allies are committed to push his forces from Kuwait.

“It is now over 3 1/2 months since Iraq invaded Kuwait and has continued to defy the United Nations demand to withdraw,” King told the House of Commons.

“Sanctions have left Iraq increasingly isolated . . . but Saddam Hussein shows no sign yet of complying with the U.N. resolutions and ending his barbaric treatment of the Kuwaiti people and the hostages he has detained illegally.

“If he’s foolish, crazy enough to stay in spite of the very substantial military forces (against him), the conflict will be short, it will be extremely painful for Iraqis, and . . . the extra resources give us the best chance of minimizing the casualties on our side,” King said at a later news conference.

“This will represent a potent increase in the fighting capability of British forces in region,” King said.

Thatcher said that a peaceful solution to the crisis sparked by Iraq’s Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait is still possible. But that solution is for Hussein to accept U.N. sanctions and leave, she declared.