Are British Soldiers Deserting Iraq?
The British government finds itself on the defense following a BBC report from this weekend that more than 1,000 members of the British military have deserted since the start of the Iraq war. With Iraq still engulfed in violence and Prime Minister Tony Blair facing calls for resignations from his own party, the story suggests British unhappiness with the Iraq war extends down to boots on the ground. Government officials say the upward trend in desertions, made public during a House of Commons debate last week, doesn’t represent anything unusual. According to the BBC, 86 soldiers who went absent without leave in 2001 are still missing. There are 118 reported still missing from 2002, 134 from 2003, 229 from 2004, 377 from 2005, and 189 so far in 2006. “We regard that figure as fairly constant,” a Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said. “It often happens for family reasons and there is no evidence to suggest operational commitments contribute significantly to the figures.” Military law expe
