British troops may stay 4 yrs in Iraq

Britain has deployed a 17,000-strong ground force in Iraq for between one ant two years, but the duration could double if attacks by Iraqi militia on allied forces become more frequent, defence ministry sources told The Times.

On Monday Major-General Freddy Viggers, a British commander appointed to serve at the US military headquarters in Baghdad, told The Times that coalition forces risked becoming bogged down in a Balkans-style policing mission unless they can capture or kill Saddam and prove his regime is finished.

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Some 1,600 British troops are still in Bosnia, 11 years after the end of the conflict.

Major-General Patrick Cordingley, commander of Britain 7th Armoured Brigade or 'Desert Rats' in the 1991 Gulf War said that the longer coalition faces remain in Iraq, the more resentful the Iraqis will become.

"But the American and British troops cannot possibly leave Iraq until the country is absolutely secure and back in Iraqi hands," he said.

But sources close to Britain's Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told The Times that he was determined to avoid a Bosnia-style commitment.

"The Iraqis have to take responsibility for themselves," the source said.