Prime Minister Brown stands firm on Afghanistan; says Britain ‘will not be deterred’

November 5th, 2009 UK's Brown stands firm on AfghanistanLONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Afghanistan's government on Friday to take action against corruption, saying he would not risk more British lives there unless it reforms. Brown said in a speech that success in Afghanistan is vital to Britain's security — but declared that if the Afghan government does not mend its ways it will forfeit the world's support.

September 9th, 2009 PARIS - The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have called on the UN to hold a new international conference on the future of Afghanistan, officials said here Wednesday. In a joint letter to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a meeting to discuss the progress in Afghanistan.

September 5th, 2009 LONDON - Following defence aide Eric Joyce quitting over UK's war strategy in Afghanistan, Gordon Brown tried to defend his policy by saying that "we cannot walk away." Despite the growing death toll among British troops, Brown insisted the UK strategy in Afghanistan is the right one. "A safer Britain requires a safer Afghanistan," the Daily Star quoted Brown, as saying.

September 4th, 2009 Brown: British troops to remain in AfghanistanLONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown says British troops will remain in Afghanistan until the country's own security forces can fight the Taliban and al-Qaida without assistance. Brown says the British military will have succeeded when the Afghans can do the job of "denying the territory of Afghanistan as a base for terrorists." Brown is defending Britain's role in Afghanistan in the face of a rising death toll and mounting criticism.

August 29th, 2009 British prime minister visits AfghanistanKABUL — Britain's prime minister paid a surprise visit Saturday to British troops in southern Afghanistan, promising more help to cope with Taliban insurgents who have inflicted casualties on the embattled force and undercut support in Britain for the war. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking to British soldiers and journalists at the British base in Lashkar Gah, pledged to provide more equipment to help overcome the threat of Taliban roadside bombs, a major threat to NATO forces.

July 14th, 2009 Britain to send 140 more troops to AfghanistanLONDON — Britain is sending an additional 140 troops to Afghanistan to bolster the war effort there. The Ministry of Defense says the soldiers will be transferred from a British base in Cyprus to the war zone.

July 8th, 2009 L'AQUILA - India and Britain Wednesday discussed restructuring of global financial institutions to make them more suited to present-day international needs even as both countries pledged to take bilateral trade to the 10-billion pound mark by 2010. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue of restructuring of global financial institutions with his British counterpart Gordon Brown at their meeting on the sidelines of the G8-G5 summit at Coppito complex of the Guardia da Finanza (Italian financial police) near this earthquake-hit town, about 100 km from Rome.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Thursday garlanded a recently installed statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the city of Leicester. Brown surprised shoppers in Belgrave Road, a popular Indian shopping area of Leicester, when he dropped by to view the statue - believed to be only the second of Gandhi in Europe.

May 21st, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said tension between India and Pakistan soured particularly after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, and the attacks also raised difficulties for New Delhi. Addressing a regular press briefing here, Brown expressed hope that the relationship between India and Pakistan would improve in times to come.

April 29th, 2009 Britain to send 700 extra troops to AfghanistanLONDON — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he'll temporarily send 700 extra troops to Afghanistan to boost security for August elections. Brown told lawmakers that Britain will increase its forces in Afghanistan from 8,300 to 9,000, but will reduce numbers to current levels by November.

April 27th, 2009 LONDON - Terming the lawless mountainous tribal region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan as a 'crucible of terrorism', British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has unveiled a new strategy to counter the terror threat emanating from the region. Brown, on a surprise visit to Afghanistan, referred the region as a "breeding ground for terrorism" and said that any plan to thwart the growing threat from the Taliban must be implemented with of the local forces.

April 27th, 2009 British PM: Af-Pak border 'crucible of terrorism'KABUL — The border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan form a "crucible of terrorism" that Western powers must combat for their own safety, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday. Brown was on a one-day visit to Afghanistan in which he toured British bases in the south and discussed strategy with President Hamid Karzai.

February 22nd, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to be the first European head of government to meet with US President Barack Obama, in a meeting scheduled for March 3 in Washington, the British government confirmed Saturday. A spokesman for Brown said that the global financial crisis and the situation in Afghanistan would be on the agenda for the meeting, which is due to take place at the White House.

February 9th, 2009 LONDON - Britain has named Sherard Cowper-Coles as its new envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Cowper-Coles, currently British ambassador to Afghanistan, will be appointed as special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, a new post, the foreign office said Monday.

January 3rd, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday that solving the 'Pakistan problem' is crucial to an Afghan strategy. Asked if more troops were needed in Afghanistan, Brown told BBC in an interview: 'We [Britain] have already got more troops there but we need to solve the Pakistan problem.' 'We need to ensure that there's an economic stake in the country in Afghanistan and we've got to back up the Afghan army - at some point they've got to take control of their own affairs.' In a separate interview with The Observer newspaper published Sunday, the British leader said British forces are endangered by the ability of terrorists to move to and fro Pakistan.