In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair is coming under heavy criticism for planning to agree with a request from the Bush administration to dispatch hundreds of British troops to just south of Baghdad to aide U.S. forces. Opponents of the plan said the move is a ploy by President Bush to demonstrate ahead of the November 2 election that there is international support for the Iraq war. The redeployment of British troops would also free up U.S. soldiers for an all-out assault on Fallujah.