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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: British troops

British troops stories: 25 news summaries

1 - 20 of 25 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Rogue Afghan Cop 
 Kills 5 Brit Soldiers 

Culprit escapes after turning weapon on training team

Nov 4, 09 6:17 AM CST
(Newser) - Five British soldiers died in Helmand province yesterday after a rogue Afghan cop opened fire on a group of Afghan policemen and their British mentors drinking tea together. The mentors had been training the Afghans for two weeks when one of the trainees turned his weapon on them without warning.... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • British troops • British military • Helmand province • Afghan police

UK Colonel's Death Raises Fury at Home

He's killed by roadside bomb after warning about lack of choppers

Oct 31, 09 1:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Britain's newspapers are up in arms today over the revelation that a commander got killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan just weeks after warning his superiors they weren't doing enough to prevent such deaths. Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe complained in an email that troops didn't have enough helicopters and... More »

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Afghanistan • IED • roadside bomb • British troops • Afghanistan war • helicopters • Rupert Thorneloe

(Newser) - The US is expected to push for more British troops to help fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, a move certain to be unpopular with the British public, reports the Guardian. NATO Gen. Stanley McChrystal will likely recommend to President Obama that the current total of 150,000 Afghan troops should... More »

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Afghanistan • NATO • Taliban • America • British troops • US • Britain • Afghan Army • President Obama • troops

Soldiers Who Survive War
Are Less Intelligent

Records reveal that the smartest of Scottish regiments died on WWII battlefields

Dec 20, 08 7:39 AM CST
(Newser) - Soldiers who survived World War II were on average less intelligent than their fallen comrades, a study of British records has revealed. Researchers merged military records with an IQ test given to Scottish schoolchildren in 1932 and found that Scots who died in battle had an average IQ of 100.... More »

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military • Scotland • war • research • British troops • soldier • World War II • human intelligence • casualties

 Brown Announces 
 July Withdrawal 
 in Baghdad 

Brown says troops home by July in surprise Baghdad visit

Dec 17, 08 5:47 AM CST
(Newser) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Baghdad today and announced that all but a handful of British troops will leave Iraq by July 2009. About 4,000 British service members remain in Iraq, mostly around Basra, though at the height of the war 100,000 were... More »

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Iraq • United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • Basra • British troops • British Army • Britain • Iraq exit strategy

 Brown Hints 
 He'd Nix Obama 
 Plea for Troops 

Time for other nations to step up in Afghanistan, warns prime minister

Dec 15, 08 2:44 AM CST
(Newser) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hinted that Britain would defy a request by Barack Obama to send 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the Times of London reports. After hearing of bleak progress there against the resurging Taliban, Brown warned that other nations will have to shoulder further deployments.... More »

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Afghanistan • War on Terror • Barack Obama • troop surge • Gordon Brown • British troops • Britain

(Newser) - British troops will begin withdrawing their 4,000 troops from Iraq in March and will have all but a few hundred out by the end of June, the Guardian reports. They will be replaced at their base in Basra not by Iraqis but by Americans, who are worried about keeping... More »

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Iraq • Basra • coalition forces • British troops • Britain • Iraq war

Britain Will Resist US Calls
for Afghan Buildup

Army stretched too thin, top commander says

Nov 10, 08 12:31 PM CST
(Newser) - Britain should oppose any calls from President Obama to shift troops to Afghanistan as they are pulled out of Iraq, the country's defense chief says, arguing that UK troops need a breather. “I have said for a very long time that the British armed forces are stretched,” Sir... More »

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Afghanistan • NATO • David Miliband • British troops • Britain • troop levels • Iraq exit strategy • NATO troops • President Obama • Jock Stirrup

Brits Join the Fight in Basra

US widens its airstrikes, and Sadr tells followers to keep their weapons

Mar 29, 08 11:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - As the Iraqi army struggles to combat militias in Basra, British troops for the first time directly joined the fight, and American forces expanded their bombing beyond the militia stronghold. The Brits, who had previously provided only logistical and air support to the Iraqis, fired on an insurgent mortar team... More »

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Iraq • Nouri al-Maliki • Basra • US military • British • British troops • Shiite insurgents • Muqtada al-Sadr • Iraq war • George W. Bush

OPINION

Prince Harry Should Have Stayed

Christopher Hitchens asks what threat he posed others

Mar 12, 08 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - When Matt Drudge revealed to the world Prince Harry was in Afghanistan, there he should have stayed, writes Christopher Hitchens for Slate. It's "piffle" to think that his royal highness was a "bullet magnet" in Helmand province, already one of the most dangerous places on Earth for any... More »

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Afghanistan • War on Terror • Prince Harry • Drudge Report • Matt Drudge • war • Buckingham Palace • British troops • British Army • British royals • Helmand province

Aussie Mag Apologizes
to Harry

Publishing Afghan story was 'irresponsible and insensitive,' say editors

Mar 10, 08 4:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Australian women's magazine has apologized to Britain's Prince Harry for breaking a media embargo and being the first to reveal that he was serving with troops in Afghanistan. The young royal was immediately pulled from the combat zone after just 10 weeks because of fears he would become a... More »

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Afghanistan • Prince Charles • Prince Harry • Drudge Report • British troops • Britain • British royals • Harry

UK Troops Accused of Executing Iraqis

Five men file suit, say soldiers killed and tortured 20 captives

Feb 22, 08 2:35 PM CST
(Newser) - British soldiers killed up to 20 Iraqi captives after a 2004 firefight, say lawyers representing five men taken prisoner that day, the BBC reports. The men—described by their lawyers as laborers, not insurgents—say they heard UK soldiers killing and torturing captives at a British base after the gun... More »

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Iraq • torture • Mahdi Army • United Kingdom • Scotland Yard • British troops • prisoner of war • Ministry of Defence

After 5 Years, Brits Hand Over Basra to Iraqis

Strategic, unstable region to test strength of Baghdad government

Dec 16, 07 6:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Ending five years of British control in southern Iraq, the UK today handed over authority for the wealthy, populous Basra region to the Iraqi government. Residents greeted the handover with jubilation, but the responsibility for Basra—strategically located, an oil export hub and home of Iraq's only port—will prove... More »

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Iraq • Iraq pullout • Basra • British troops • British military • Iraq violence

Britain Coordinated
Troop Cuts With the US

Defense heads say they agreed southern Iraq was secure enough

Oct 11, 07 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - The British and American defense secretaries say the US was consulted before Britain halved its troops in Iraq, the Los Angeles Times reports, and they agreed southern Iraq was secure enough for the withdrawal. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the withdrawal was coordinated with US commander Gen. David Petraeus,... More »

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Iraq • Robert Gates • David Petraeus • troop withdrawal • British troops • Des Browne

UK to Slash Iraq Force by More Than Half

PM sees 'overwatch' role after cut from 5,500 to 2,500 troops

Oct 8, 07 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - British troops will number only 2,500 in Iraq by next spring, Gordon Brown said today. In “two distinct stages,” the PM said, the UK will shrink its presence to 4,000 troops from the current 5,500 and then to 2,500, the Guardian reports. Three of... More »

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Iraq • Gordon Brown • Basra • Tories • British troops • drawdown

Britain Defies
US on Iraq Pullout

New foreign secretary says Americans have no say on UK operations

Aug 28, 07 11:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The UK foreign secretary has challenged American criticism, asserting that only his government will dictate the pace and timing of a British withdrawal from Iraq. David Miliband responded to allegations from a retired US general that the UK army must step up efforts in Basra. "The British national interest,... More »

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Iraq • United Kingdom • David Petraeus • Gordon Brown • David Miliband • British troops • Iraq war

Three UK Soldiers Killed by US Fire

Jet was providing support v. Taliban

Aug 24, 07 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Fire from an American jet killed three British soldiers in Afghanistan yesterday evening in one of the worst “friendly fire” disasters in years. The US air support was called in to aid the soldiers, who were fighting Taliban forces; a single bomb from the F15 killed the Royal Anglian... More »

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Afghanistan • military • United Kingdom • friendly fire • bomb • British troops • Britain

US Rattled by Brit Pullout Plans

Withdrawal schedule expected this fall

Aug 8, 07 4:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - The White House is increasingly concerned about the timing of the British troop pullout from Iraq, expected to be announced by PM Gordon Brown in October, the Guardian reports. About 5,000 British troops remain in the Basra area, where they' have already withdrawn to  an area around the city's... More »

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Iraq • White House • Gordon Brown • Basra • troop withdrawal • British troops • Brookings Institution

As Brits Leave, Basra Crumbles

Former success story turns sour

Aug 7, 07 9:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - The southern Iraqi port of Basra was once hailed as a success for coalition troops, but as British forces pull out, the city is devolving into violent conflict typical of Baghdad. Loose political parties and criminal gangs, which the remaining Brits are powerless to control, are fighting to dominate the... More »

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Iraq • Shiite • Basra • violence • British troops

Long Combat Tours Take Mental Toll

Brit Study: Alcoholism, post traumatic stress soar after 13 months

Aug 3, 07 5:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Soldiers who serve extended tours in combat zones have much higher rates of alcoholism, post traumatic stress syndrome and problems at home, a large British study has found. Of those in war zones for more than 13 months over three years, one in four had "severe" alcohol problems, compared... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • mental health • alcoholism • war • mental illness • British troops • soldier • PTSD

1 - 20 of 25 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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