Over 1,000 British soldiers have deserted since Iraq war began

[Dover]

Over 1,000 British soldiers have deserted since Iraq war began

LONDON: More than 1,000 members of the British armed forces have deserted since that start of the war in Iraq three years ago, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sunday.

The BBC did not say how it arrived at the figure. Earlier this week, Labour Party lawmaker John McDonnell told the House of Commons that the level of desertion had tripled since 2003. However, the Ministry of Defence said the army knew of only “a handful” of deserters since 1989, and said there had been no significant increase in the number of soldiers going absent without leave.

..cont'd

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\05\29\story_29-5-2006_pg7_11

[Roland99]

1. Geez. That's a sizable % given the size of their forces in Iraq.

[Henny Penny]

2. I guess thats why they're doing this...

"Proposals for British soldiers to get life sentences for desertion have been criticised as "inhuman and barbaric".

John McDonnell led Labour backbench calls to scrap the life imprisonment provision of the Armed Forces Bill.

He argued the plan was part of a crackdown on soldiers opposed to the war in Iraq, but his proposal was later rejected by MPs by 442 votes to 19.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5006638.stm

[Moderator]

3. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2310260