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UK's Brown to make Afghanistan statement next week
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 09 - 10 - 2009


British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown will make a statement to parliament on Afghanistan on
Wednesday, his spokesman said on Friday, as expectations grow
Britain will boost its troop levels, Reuters reported.
Worsening violence in the U.S.-led eight-year war with the
Taliban has triggered calls for a change of strategy, including
the possibility of NATO forces sending more troops to try and
stabilise larger areas of Afghanistan.
Britain has about 9,000 troops on the ground and could send
about another 500, according to British media reports.
The ministry of defence confirmed a soldier had been killed
by an explosion in central Helmand province on Thursday morning,
taking the British army death toll to 221 in the conflict.
"The Prime Minister is open minded on the question of
whether more troops are needed in Afghanistan and whether we
should send more troops," Brown's spokesman told reporters.
"We've always said that more troops would have to be subject
to a number of criteria -- feasibility of sending the right
equipment, the right strategy internationally and particularly
this issue of 'Afghanisation' ... and obviously proper burden
sharing."
Britain's opposition Conservatives, leading in opinion polls
ahead of an election due by next year, have said more British
troops should be sent to help train the Afghan army.
Brown had a video conference call with U.S. President Barack
Obama to discuss Afghanistan on Thursday, with Brown keen to see
a full Afghan security force trained up by the end of next year
to ease the burden on the NATO coalition.
Obama is currently mulling a recommendation to send 40,000
extra U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan. There are currently more
than 100,000 Western troops in the warzone -- most of them
American.
Despite growing public dissatisfaction over Britain's
involvement in a conflict that has cost more British troop lives
than the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the UK government has
also said it would consider sending more soldiers.
"It's the right thing to do to make any statement about
troop numbers within the context of a House of Commons statement
first," the spokesman said.


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