BUSH WELCOMES U.S. TROOPS BEING KILLED

Bush delivered a defiant challenge to the Iraqi militants killing American soldiers: "Bring 'em on."

Speaking to reporters in Washington, the American president declared: "There are some who feel . . . conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is: 'Bring 'em on.' We have the force necessary to deal with the situation."

His forceful remarks came amid increasing domestic concern about the rising toll among US troops; at least 23 have been killed since major hostilities stopped on May 1.

Mr Bush's determination was matched by Jack Straw. As the bodies of the six murdered British royal military policemen (RMP) arrived home, the foreign secretary pledged UK troops were not about to "run away" in the face of the attacks but would stay in Iraq "for as long as it takes".

Flying into Baghdad to assess the security situation, Mr Straw told reporters on the plane: "People are making a terrible mistake if they think we are going to run away from this. That is not the way the British forces operate. We have a responsibility in any event to secure this country."

He added: "We will be staying in Iraq for as long as it takes to support the Iraqi people, to establish representative government and to establish decent social and economic services for the Iraqi people."

While the secretary of state pointed out the security situation was better than it was two months ago, he acknowledged there were still elements of the Ba'ath party and the Fedayeen militia "operating in a relatively organised way" against coalition forces.

The foreign secretary flew into Baghdad international airport amid tight security. He was whisked to the city in an US Black Hawk helicopter, one of several in the flight, as the road from the airport was deemed to be too dangerous.

Earlier, Mr Straw had stopped briefly at the UK headquarters in Basra to discuss the security situation with Major General Sir Peter Wall, the commanding officer of the British forces in Iraq.

He said he had not received any request for reinforcements from Major General Wall but numbers were being kept under "very constant review". The foreign secretary promised reinforcements would be sent if they were needed.

Mr Straw described the RMP deaths as "extremely concerning" but said he believed their murder to be a "relatively isolated" event. He vowed Britain forces were "not going to forget" their promise to find the men's killers.

The six were gunned down at a civilian police station in al Majar al Kabir on June 24.

Their bodies were returned to the UK following a moving repatriation ceremony at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, looked on as tearful relatives saw the coffins carriedfrom an RAF transporter. An inquest into the deaths was opened and adjourned at the airbase to allow the bodies to be released to loved ones.

The Ministry of Defence is investigating the al Majar al Kabir deaths. Mr Hoon admitted yesterday paratroopers had fired rubber bullets on an angry crowd in the town just two days before the fatal incident.

In the House of Commons, an exasperated Tony Blair clashed with Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, over the claims Downing Street "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD). During question time, Mr Kennedy insisted there was a lack of clarity over the government's claim that Iraq could have launched a missile attack within 45 minutes. The prime minister hit back, saying the 45-minute claim had been clarified and branded the suggestion that No 10 had exaggerated intelligence as "completely and totally incorrect".

To heavy Labour barracking of the LibDem benches, Mr Blair directly challenged Mr Kennedy: "If anyone has any evidence, let them produce it. But I think before a claim of that seriousness is made at least some evidence should be produced."

Today, members of the Commons foreign affairs committee (FAC) are expected to vote in private on the final version of their report into government intelligence and WMD. There is a growing expectation that the three Conservative members might break ranks and produce a critical minority report.

The WMD controversy as well as the on-going spat between Downing Street and the BBC are certain to be raised when MPs today debate the annual report of the Commons intelligence and security committee.



© 2003 Reuters.