Send reinforcements

MP URGES GOVERNMENT TO SEND OUT REINFORCEMENTS TO RELIEVE PRESSURE ON TROOPS

A former Gulf War officer has urged The Government to send more troops to the Gulf in order to rest soldiers after a period of intense activity.

Hugh Robertson, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, who served in the Gulf as Adjutant of a main battle tank regiment during the 1991 conflict, said: "The last fortnight has extraordinarily demanding, it comes on top of a months of preparation. Our existing troops are now getting tired - which is when mistakes occur. It is important to realise that the current conflict is not the 1991 Gulf War Mark II. It will thus take a great deal longer to resolve.

"It is, therefore, imperative that the government sends out more troops to support our servicemen and women already in Iraq.

"As we move north, the supply lines will get stretched and need protecting, the terrain will get more built up and we will encounter the Republican Guard and the Special Republican Guard. The civilian population becomes overwhelmingly Sunni, who are more loyal to Saddam Hussain, rather than Shia.

"In short, it is going to get more difficult."