UK's Blair to call for debate on military role-BBC

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to defend his interventionist policies in Iraq and Afghanistan today and say the country must decide what kind of role it wants for its armed forces, the BBC reported.

In a speech in Plymouth Blair will say Britain must choose whether it wants to continue to have a major influence on world affairs through military interventions overseas, the BBC said.

Blair's Downing Street office declined to comment on the contents of the speech.

Blair's support for the US-led invasion of Iraq has proven deeply unpopular at home where concern is also mounting about growing British casualties in Afghanistan.

In an interview with ITV Westcountry yesterday Blair said: ''I think it's right for Britain to be alongside our allies in Iraq and Afghanistan but it is a big decision to be in that game still ... and putting our forces in situations of danger.'' U S President George W Bush on Wednesday announced plans to boost troop numbers in Iraq by 21,500 in a bid to restore order to Baghdad.

Blair said yesterday the U S decision ''makes sense'' given the levels of violence in the Iraqi capital but said the situation faced by British troops in southern Iraq was very different.

REUTERS PDM HT1412