From Sky News (
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...015360,00.html )
IRAQ: WE COULD HAVE LOST
British soldiers could have lost the war in Iraq if they'd faced a more capable enemy.
That is one of the findings in a major report by MPs.
It says troops were left vulnerable to chemical attack because of a shortage of kit.
Although it says the overall military operation was a success, the report - called Learning the Lessons of Iraq - said there were "serious shortcomings" in the supply and distribution of vital equipment to protect against chemical attack.
And the Commons Defence Committee highlighted a series of critical failings in the military supply chain which meant that vital kit - including ammunition, machine guns, body armour and desert clothing - did not reach the troops in time.
The report is published on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion.
Overall, it says the operation had placed demands on the Armed Forces which were "very close to the maximum they could sustain".
The committee said troops had been left without sufficient supplies of chemical detectors and protective clothing. They were given only one protective suit, even though "ideally" they should have four.
It suggested that if Saddam had used chemical weapons on the scale he did in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the British forces would have been unable to cope.
"There were serious shortcomings in the supply and distribution system and the required levels of detection and protection were not always available to everyone," the report said.