Iraq/Troops
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Asked about the possibility of sending additional troops to Iraq, the PMOS said that this remained a matter for review. We were in discussions with our Coalition partners about this issue, as indeed we had been throughout. At this point, there was nothing further to report. Asked if an announcement might be made this week, the PMOS said that no decisions had been taken at this stage. Put to him that the Government’s policy on troop deployments appeared to be changing, the PMOS said he would disagree. He had been repeating the same thing since this time last week. Asked if the UK had been approached formally to send additional troops to Iraq to fill the hole created by the departure of Spanish troops, the PMOS said that he was not going to provide a running commentary on a review that was currently taking place. Others might give their views in private briefings. However, we believed that it was better for a decision to be made on the basis of operational advice from those on the ground.
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Downing Street Says.
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"Put to him that the Government’s policy on troop deployments appeared to be changing, the PMOS said he would disagree. He had been repeating the same thing since this time last week."
i.e., that the policy is "a matter for review" — more or less a synonym for "changing", right?
Comment by Chris Lightfoot — 26 Apr 2004 on 8:21 pm | Link