I know that this has been said by a number of commentators but I haven't yet heard a convincing answer si I'll say it. If the US has 140,000 troops in Iraq, why is it so vital for them to have 650 UK troops. It seems to me that there are two possible answers.
1) The UK troops are better trained than the US guys therefore the US needs them.
2) It is to shore up Bush's pre election position by showing that there really is a coalition.
So which is it?