Another 10,000 troops for Iraq are not enough for Bush

In a relatively modest but welcome bit of relief for United States forces, troops from 21 countries, including Spain, Poland and four Central American nations, will begin taking over duties from marines in south-central Iraq this week.

The changeover, involving about 10,000 fresh troops, comes as President George Bush renews efforts to enlist the help of more foreign countries in Iraq, hoping that last week's bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad will motivate reluctant countries to take part in shoring up security.

But the soldiers taking over are not an immediate response to Mr Bush's call. They are fulfilling promises their nations made months ago to contribute forces to the "coalition of the willing" assembled by the US and Britain. Nor will their arrival augment the military presence in Iraq, where attacks on coalition forces and other violence are showing no signs of easing.

The foreign forces will simply replace troops that have been in Iraq for months.

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