Baghdad, July 02: A bevy of US and British politicians vowed to stay the course in Iraq, despite burgeoning insurgency and daily attacks on US troops that have led some to worry about the possibility of a political and military quagmire. Meanwhile, a US soldier wounded in one of two ambushes near Baghdad yesterday died overnight from his wounds, and saboteurs intent on stealing oil have caused leaks that shut down Iraq's main oil pipeline.
British foreign secretary Jack Straw said the Iraqi people, not coalition troops, are the ones most hurt from attacks by Saddam Hussein loyalists. He said the coalition would not pull out as a result. "There is absolutely no question of those attacks leading to a pullout," he said today in Kuwait before leaving for Iraq's southern city of Basra, where he was meeting with local officials and British troops. "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," he said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of nine US senators on a three-day tour of Iraq expressed confidence yesterday in the US mission, but acknowledged that risks remain. "This coalition of armed forces is never, ever going to give in, irrespective of what is thrown at it," said John Warner, a Republican of Virginia, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Bureau Report