Papers mull Bush Iraq troop plan

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President Bush's plan to send another 20,000 US troops to Iraq receives wide attention in the papers.

The Independent nails its colours firmly to the mast - "The march of folly is to continue."

That announcement to send the extra troops to Iraq shows, writes the paper's Rupert Cornwell, that from now on this is his war alone.

The Times talks of Bush's last throw of the dice - gambling his political legacy by going for bust.

'Tremendous gamble'

The Daily Telegraph splashes across its front page a report that 3,000 British troops will pull out of Iraq by May.

Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce the move within the next two weeks, the paper says.

It illustrates, thinks the paper, how British plans for disengagement seem blithely disconnected from Mr Bush's "tremendous gamble."

It says the two announcements make Britain's role in Iraq appear more peripheral than ever.

'Dereliction of duty'

The Daily Mail reports on calls for two Home Office ministers - Tony McNulty and Joan Ryan - to resign over the Home Office's latest controversy.

It failed to keep track of people who had committed serious crimes abroad - and may be back in the UK.

Its front page headline does not pull its punches: "Still not fit for purpose," it says.

The Sun, too, weighs in - the latest affair, it says is a gross and blatant dereliction of duty.

Beckham's US move?

Both the Daily Mirror and the Sun devote their front pages to David Beckham's future at Real Madrid.

The Mirror says he will have crunch talks with the club today over his future - and if a deal cannot be resolved he may then move to the US.

The Daily Mail believes Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton is on the verge of being a fashion icon.

This is only months after she was accused of wearing clothes that were far too old for her.