Refuse CO agitating to send the troops in (3,5)

I believe the answer is:

use force

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'send the troops in' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'refuse co agitating' is the wordplay.
'agitating' is an anagram indicator.
'refuse'+'co'='refuseco'
'refuseco' anagrammed gives 'USE FORCE'.

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for use force that I've seen before include "Employ coercion to cure foes" , "Employ compulsion" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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