Britain is expected Wednesday to transform its military engagement in Iraq when it approves a US request to transfer hundreds of troops to the explosive sector around Baghdad.

The decision, aimed at freeing up US manpower for an all-out assault on the lawless city of Fallujah, is generating deep disquiet here, where a public, at best skeptical about the war, is nervous of "mission creep" and the prospect of being drawn deeper into the conflict in Iraq.

British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon has indicated that the decision is a foregone conclusion. America asked for a battle group of around 650 men to be moved into a zone south of Baghdad. Mr. Hoon said Britain would have "failed in our duty as an ally" if it did not accede to the request. British reconnaissance units are already scouting out the mission.

But war-weary members of Parliament and military experts note that the "backfill" mission is fraught with danger. The unit, expected to be Scotland's battle-hardened Black Watch regiment, would be removed from the relatively calm southern sector around Basra, transplanted 200 miles north into the heat of the Sunni insurgency, and established under US command.

Britons fear that casualties would mount rapidly. So far, Britain has lost 68 servicemen in Iraq - and only 24 to hostile episodes. This compares with more than 1,000 for the US. The discrepancy is in large part due to the higher US troop numbers on the ground (130,000 to around 8,000) and the violent uprising besetting central Iraq, where American forces operate.

"It's classic mission creep," says Maj. Charles Heyman, a defense expert with Jane's Information Group. "Going into the Sunni triangle is going to result in British casualties. There is no doubt about that. This is not something that the British public signed up to." Most Britons hoped a short campaign and a timely exit from Iraq.

The troop movement is driven by an election, though which one depends on one's point of view. The military says the British reinforcement will release American units for a mission vital to the success of Iraq's January ballot. The US military and Iraqi interim government have made it clear that they intend to subjugate, by force if necessary, the rebellious parts of the country so elections can take place.

But skeptics in Britain see another election influencing the decision: the Nov. 2 US vote. For President Bush, the move demonstrates in a timely fashion that he has international allies prepared to share the pain of war, and that could be useful ammunition as the race, dominated by the situation in Iraq, enters the home stretch.

"There is a political element to this redeployment," says Michael Clarke, professor of defense studies at King's College, London. "You can't pretend it won't have an impact on Bush's reelection chances."

There is of course a third election that could be impacted by the decision: Britain's own general election, expected next spring. A successful mission would enhance Tony Blair's credentials and keep war critics at bay.

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