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US calls up hundreds more reservists to Iraq
*** The US regime is sending hundreds of reinforcements into Iraq to fight the resistance. As always, wherever the US is politically weak and lacks popular or democratic support, the regime relies on the its militarily strength instead, using violence and terror to achieve its objectives, with no concern for counting how many hundreds of thousands of ordinary people are killed along the way. But hey, it goes without saying that we're the good guys, right? ***
A further 600 reservists are to be called up to support British military operations for Iraq, the government announced yesterday.
The call-up means that more than 10,000 part-time service personnel will have been deployed in Iraq since the invasion in March 2003.
Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister, said the soldiers would be replacing existing reservists on activities including medical support. Forces in Iraq have also had to rely on reserves for communications and intelligence specialists, and engineers.
Mr Ingram said deployment would begin in October and most of those called out could expect a 10-month period of mobilisation. He added in a written statement to MPs that not all of those called up would necessarily serve in Iraq and said the move was "routine management" of troops.
However, the Liberal Democrats said it was further evidence of strains in the armed forces. Michael Moore, their defence spokesman, said: "This further highlights the degree of overstretch in the British armed forces."
Meanwhile, Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, demanded an explanation yesterday from the government about the sudden rise in RAF bombing of Iraq in the spring of 2002, almost a month before the invasion.
SOURCE
The Guardian, "US calls up hundreds more reservists for Iraq", 24 June 2005.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1513480,00.html
"The Insider" mailing list article, 24 June 2005.
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