LONDON, March 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The head of the British Army said Friday that Britain would be able to send more troops to Iraq if necessary, after Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed Wednesday that British troops would not leave Iraq until make sure that Iraqi forces could guarantee their own security.

    "Of course there is a capacity to do more if that is the decision," Chief of the General Staff Mike Jackson said in an interview with the BBC Radio.

    However, he said that it was very hypothetical at the moment.

    "There seems to be ... a little confusion precisely ... as to the Italian contingent and that will clarify in due course," Jackson said, referring to the announcement by the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that Italy was considering a gradual reduction of its 3,000 troops in Iraq.

    The British government has refused to set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq, insisting that Italy has not changedits Iraq policy.

    "Neither the Italian government nor ourselves have set some deadline to withdraw," Blair told lawmakers. Italy's position was "exactly the same as ours which is that there should be a build-upof Iraqi forces so that security is increasingly taken over."

    Local media speculated that Italy's intention to withdraw troops from southern Iraq could exert more pressure on the British government, which might be forced to send more soldiers to fill the gap left by Italian troops. Enditem