Britain Announces Additional Air Deployment to Gulf

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 07, 2003

Britain Announces Additional Air Deployment to Gulf

British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Thursday that dozens of extra Royal Air Force planes were to be sent to the Gulf in preparation for a possible war with Iraq.

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British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Thursday that dozens of extra Royal Air Force planes were to be sent to the Gulf in preparation for a possible war with Iraq.

In a statement to the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, Hoon said Britain was to bolster its RAF deployment in the Middle East over the next few weeks to more than 100 aircraft and more than 7,000 personnel.

Jaguar and Tornado aircraft, as well as transport and refuelingplanes, were to be sent to the Gulf, Hoon said.

Hoon, insisting that time was running out for Iraq to comply with UN resolutions, told lawmakers that the new force would be "balanced and highly capable."

Media reports said the RAF already has eight Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft based in Kuwait, six Tornado F3 fighters in Saudi Arabia, and four Jaguar ground attack aircraft based in Turkey, aswell as support aircraft.

According to Hoon's announcement, which reports said put in place the final element of Britain's contribution to a possible US-led military attack, the overall British troops in the Gulf would amount to almost 40,000.

Britain has already committed about 34,000 troops, including a quarter of its army to the Gulf region.

Blair, the staunchest US ally on disarming Iraq, said Wednesday that Britain is prepared to go to war with Iraq without a second UN resolution in case of a "capricious" veto by a UN Security Council member.

Britain and the United States, who have accused Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction, have threatened to use force to ensure Iraq's compliance with a U.N. resolution requiringit give up nuclear, biological or chemical arms.

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