Raphael G. Satter
Britain’s Brown laying out Afghanistan strategy
LONDON — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was expected to announce Wednesday that he’s sending more British troops to Afghanistan amid rising dissent about the conflict.
British media say that about 500 extra soldiers could be thrown into the fight against the Taliban, although it was not immediately clear when they would be deployed. There are already 9,150 British troops in Afghanistan.
Any decision to increase the troop levels would likely be welcomed by President Barack Obama’s administration, which has repeatedly called on its allies to come forward with more troops and resources for the Afghan war.
Brown’s spokesman Simon Lewis said Tuesday that any decision on troop numbers “will be announced to the House of Commons.”
Britain’s former commander in Afghanistan, Col. Richard Kemp, said the reported move was “a bold decision.”
“I think we probably do need more than that, but it’s a contribution,” he told the BBC.
Kemp told the broadcaster that the additional manpower would allow military chiefs to deploy an extra battle group into central Helmand province, something he said would give commanders there “extra combat power.”
The decision comes after Brown’s recently retired army chief accused him of turning down the military’s request for more troops in Afghanistan.
Gen. Richard Dannatt said the prime minister turned down advice to commit an extra 2,000 troops to the fight against the Taliban, an allegation the prime minister’s office denied.
Brown’s supporters have questioned the retired general’s motives, noting that he has since been picked to become a senior adviser to the opposition Conservative Party.
Britain’s mission in Afghanistan has become increasingly unpopular as casualties mount.
A poll released Wednesday found 36 percent of respondents thought British troops should leave Afghanistan, up from 29 percent in mid-September.
Pollster Populus interviewed 1,509 adults between Oct. 9 and Oct. 11. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points.
British lawmakers returned this week from a three-month summer break, and Brown will open his weekly question session by reading out the names of 37 soldiers killed in Afghanistan during the period. A total of 221 U.K. military personnel have died in Afghanistan since the war there began in late 2001, according to the Ministry of Defense.
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