The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
London - Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has ordered a review of British troop levels in Iraq following weeks of heightened insecurity, the Ministry of Defence said Thursday. The announcement followed a published report that Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had proposed the deployment of 5,000 more British troops in Iraq. Baghdad - More international troops are needed in Iraq to stave off threats ranging from al-Qaida terrorists to brewing ethnic and religious conflicts, the top U.S. commander said Thursday. Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said he had enough soldiers to accomplish the mission given to him by Washington, but its scope did not include guarding Iraq's porous borders or its thousands of kilometres of highways. Sanchez said last week it was impossible for coalition forces to defend the full length of pipeline that carries Iraq's oil. On Thursday, he warned that international forces were needed to reinforce existing coalition forces in tackling looming security threats, such as Iranian fighters or possible conflict between the Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Muslims sects. Qalat, Afghanistan - Afghan and U.S. forces were scouring gorges and rugged mountain peaks in southern Zabul province for Taliban guerrillas fleeing fighting that reportedly left dozens of insurgents dead, an Afghan commander said Thursday.
