Kosovo Deployment Risks Stretching Army to its Limits

Commenting on a written statement to the House yesterday that put forward new plans to send a British battalion of 600 soldiers to Kosovo as part of a NATO mission, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary Nick Harvey MP expressed his concerns:

With our troops already overstretched by operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, this further deployment will push the Army to its limits.

The government insists the deployment is only for a month but the recent U-turn over pulling troops out of Iraq will lead many to question whether the Army could become embroiled for longer.

Preserving stability in Kosovo is, of course, vital, but it is hard to see how further deployments of our already hard-pressed troops can be maintained.