Events | 2009.10.01
UK may send more troops to Afghanistan
• Increase will come if Nato allies also boost forces
• US commander pushes hearts and minds strategy
Britain is considering sending more troops to Afghanistan in the short term, Downing Street said today , but the commitment will be made only if Nato allies also pledge more forces.
The indication came as General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, used a speech in London to urge a fundamental shift in the way the insurgency is tackled, warning the security situation was deteriorating and success could not be taken for granted. McChrystal, who has asked the White House for a further 40,000 troops in addition to the 100,000 in Afghanistan, made it clear he believed more were needed for an effective "hearts and minds" operation.
"The situation is serious and I choose that word very, very carefully. Neither success nor failure in our endeavour in support of the Afghan people and government can be taken for granted," he told the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London yesterday. "Violence is up because the insurgency has grown."
Ministers seem convinced Barack Obama will eventually back the request from his military commanders for extra troops as part of a surge designed to isolate the Taliban from the local population.
But there is a reluctance in Downing Street to commit more than the 9,000 British troops already in Helmand province without similar promises from Nato allies.
David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said yesterday: "We back our troops in support of a clear plan, but we expect every other government in the coalition to do the same, not by turning round but by recommitting to the mission. We came into this together. We see it through together."
He also insisted that neither Britain nor the US would turn a blind eye to ballot rigging during August\'s presidential election. The government would await a report from the Afghan electoral complaints commission on rigging before agreeing to send extra troops Miliband said. Gordon Brown also said he was thinking through future strategy with the Americans. "Both Barack Obama and I are looking at how we can train up the Afghan army, train up the Afghan police, improve the civil institutions ... and it\'s at that point that I believe we can reduce the troop numbers in Afghanistan," he said.
Most of the extra UK troops would be used to help speed up the training of the Afghan army so Nato\'s target of training 4,000 Afghan army soldiers per month, increased from the current rate of 2,000, could be achieved.
Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, said the deployment would also depend on ensuring sufficient equipment was available. "The kit and equipment they need to do this job doesn\'t come from Marks and Spencer. It has to be ordered through a very complex procurement process," he said.
"We will take these decisions as an alliance, although the UK cannot allow the deployment of its troops to outstrip the supply of equipment which allows them to do their job and minimises the risks that they face. Before I agree to an increase in troop numbers I must be sure that the balance of risk is acceptable by evaluating the capacity of the supply chain to properly equip an increased force."
Earlier, McChrystal said: "We must redefine the fight and protect the Afghan people from all threats." In the end the battle would be won "in the minds and perceptions of the Afghan people".
Foreign forces, McChrystal continued, "needed to connect with people … So we will have to do things dramatically differently and uncomfortably differently".
The general was appointed by Obama because of the White House\'s belief – shared in Downing Street – in a "new strategy" of less bombing, less emphasis on killing the Taliban and other insurgents, more emphasis on protecting Afghans, building up their economy, and convincing them that foreign troops are in it for the long term.
That meant adopting a less aggressive, more thoughtful, approach towards ordinary Afghans, McChrystal said. It also meant, and British commanders agree, more boots on the ground. "We must provide enough security in enough places at the same time. That\'s the point," he said.
McChrystal has said it also meant speeding up the training of the Afghan army and police force.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/01/uk-may-send-more-troops-afghanistan
