Britain confirms 500 more troops for Afghanistan
Posted: 01 December 2009 1013 hrs

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LONDON: Britain is to send an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan in December, tipping its deployment there over the 10,000 mark, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday

The announcement of new troops to arrive from early December came the day before President Barack Obama is set to announce tens of thousands of more US troops for Afghanistan.

Brown said Britain's extra troops would be accompanied by new forces from at least eight other NATO allies, as well as the United States.

"I can confirm that we will now move to a force level of 9,500," Brown told the House of Commons, adding that the total number of personnel including special forces and others in the area would be "in excess of 10,000 troops".

Brown later held a video call with Obama on the Afghan mission, with the pair agreeing the need to encourage allies from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to "do more."

"They acknowledged good progress on burden sharing, and agreed that they would continue to encourage ISAF allies to do more," Downing Street said.

"They agreed on the importance of combining military and political strategies in Afghanistan, as well as on the need for continued action by Pakistan," Downing Street said in a statement about the 45-minute call.

Last month, Brown set three conditions for Britain sending an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan.

These were that the Afghan government show a commitment to providing police and soldiers who can be trained to engage in combat; that British troops are properly equipped and that other NATO countries also boost force levels.

The conditions have now all been met, Brown said, highlighting that eight NATO countries had already made offers of additional troops and others were likely to follow.

"I believe over the coming months, even more countries will respond," he said.

"As long as the Afghanistan/Pakistan border areas are the location of choice for Al-Qaeda and the epicentre of global terrorism, it's the government's judgement that we should address the threat at its source."

Addressing another of the conditions, the head of the armed forces, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, said earlier that levels of vital equipment like helicopters - whose alleged shortage has caused intense controversy in Britain - had risen by about a third since August.

"This meets the needs of our operational commanders and underlines our commitment, alongside our coalition partners, to succeed in Afghanistan," Stirrup said, welcoming the announcement.

"This troop uplift will allow us to strengthen and deepen security for the people of Afghanistan in the UK area of operations whilst allowing us to accelerate the development of Afghan National Security Forces who remain the long term solution for the security of Afghanistan."

Brown added that at least eight other NATO members, apart from the United States, had agreed to send more troops to Afghanistan. He cited NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, but did not identify which countries.

Britain is hosting an international conference on Afghanistan on January 28 at which President Hamid Karzai is likely to be set tough new benchmarks on fighting extremism in his country.

Brown has pledged to set new targets for the Afghan government like a series of three-monthly goals so that international forces can start to hand over control to Afghan troops and police.

This could see Afghan districts "potentially being handed over during next year," Brown confirmed Monday.

- AFP/yb