Amusing Scrotum
25th January 2006, 18:09
From BBC News....
Originally posted by UK to boost Afghan troop numbers
The UK is expected to send 3,500 extra troops to Afghanistan in April or May, bringing the total number there to more than 4,000, the BBC has learned.
Defence Secretary John Reid would not confirm numbers, but he is to address MPs on the matter on Thursday.
But Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the BBC the 3,500 figure would be "not far off the mark".
The UK takes control of Nato forces in Afghanistan in May, with soldiers due to oversee reconstruction efforts.
'Challenging mission'
There are currently about 850 British troops operating in the country.
BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood said the cabinet would confirm the number of new troops to be deployed.
"But equally, the MoD has a number in mind. The Defence Secretary, John Reid, will be going into that meeting with a proposal - I understand that is for around 3,500 extra troops," he said.
He said the deployment had been described as "the most ambitious and challenging mission yet undertaken by Nato".
"British officials stress that the Nato troops will not be carrying out a US-style counter-terrorist operation, but they will defend themselves if attacked," he said.
Most of the troops are expected to go to Helmand province in the south, where the Taleban and drug traffickers are active.
BBC Kabul correspondent Catherine Davis said Helmand remained a "very volatile" part of Afghanistan and the troops would be facing a number of insurgent groups.
"Sometimes they're referred to as Taleban, sometimes as militants, and there's also believed to be a sort of criminal element in this. This is also a drug-growing area - opium is cultivated here."
In the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Reid denied there had been any Ministry of Defence leak to the press, after newspaper reports suggesting a decision had been taken to send a further 4,000 troops.
"There is nothing more important to me and this government than the need for Parliament and my Cabinet colleagues to hear of our plans before anyone else, and certainly before the media," he said.
Mr Reid said media speculation could "be right...or very, very wrong".
He was speaking in response to an Urgent Question from shadow defence secretary Liam Fox.
Mr Fox told the BBC: "What we want to know is, if British troops are being sent there - and they are going to one of the toughest parts of Afghanistan - is everything possible being done to guarantee they can operate with as much safety as possible?"
Mr Reid told MPs that before a decision was made, British military configuration had to be "sufficient to meet the task in hand" , and that aid to Afghan farmers had to be "sufficient to offer alternative livelihoods and development if we are to tackle narcotics".
Mr Reid said he was satisfied over these two aspects but was "not satisfied" yet about the "Nato configuration of military troops around us".
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Gardam told the BBC he believed it would be difficult for Mr Reid to give firm numbers until he know what the UK's NATO allies - especially the Dutch - were doing.
"But I thought what he did indicate was that there may be a contingency plan which allows the south to be populated, as he calls, it by the Americans, the Canadians, the Australians and the British and of course the Canadians may be prepared to put more up now with their new government.
"So I think we may see an Anglo-Saxon coalition more than a NATO coalition down there."
Nato's International Security Assistance Force mission currently numbers about 9,200 troops.
It is expected to increase the overall number to about 15,000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4646646.stm
:(
Originally posted by UK to boost Afghan troop numbers
The UK is expected to send 3,500 extra troops to Afghanistan in April or May, bringing the total number there to more than 4,000, the BBC has learned.
Defence Secretary John Reid would not confirm numbers, but he is to address MPs on the matter on Thursday.
But Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the BBC the 3,500 figure would be "not far off the mark".
The UK takes control of Nato forces in Afghanistan in May, with soldiers due to oversee reconstruction efforts.
'Challenging mission'
There are currently about 850 British troops operating in the country.
BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood said the cabinet would confirm the number of new troops to be deployed.
"But equally, the MoD has a number in mind. The Defence Secretary, John Reid, will be going into that meeting with a proposal - I understand that is for around 3,500 extra troops," he said.
He said the deployment had been described as "the most ambitious and challenging mission yet undertaken by Nato".
"British officials stress that the Nato troops will not be carrying out a US-style counter-terrorist operation, but they will defend themselves if attacked," he said.
Most of the troops are expected to go to Helmand province in the south, where the Taleban and drug traffickers are active.
BBC Kabul correspondent Catherine Davis said Helmand remained a "very volatile" part of Afghanistan and the troops would be facing a number of insurgent groups.
"Sometimes they're referred to as Taleban, sometimes as militants, and there's also believed to be a sort of criminal element in this. This is also a drug-growing area - opium is cultivated here."
In the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Reid denied there had been any Ministry of Defence leak to the press, after newspaper reports suggesting a decision had been taken to send a further 4,000 troops.
"There is nothing more important to me and this government than the need for Parliament and my Cabinet colleagues to hear of our plans before anyone else, and certainly before the media," he said.
Mr Reid said media speculation could "be right...or very, very wrong".
He was speaking in response to an Urgent Question from shadow defence secretary Liam Fox.
Mr Fox told the BBC: "What we want to know is, if British troops are being sent there - and they are going to one of the toughest parts of Afghanistan - is everything possible being done to guarantee they can operate with as much safety as possible?"
Mr Reid told MPs that before a decision was made, British military configuration had to be "sufficient to meet the task in hand" , and that aid to Afghan farmers had to be "sufficient to offer alternative livelihoods and development if we are to tackle narcotics".
Mr Reid said he was satisfied over these two aspects but was "not satisfied" yet about the "Nato configuration of military troops around us".
Liberal Democrat peer Lord Gardam told the BBC he believed it would be difficult for Mr Reid to give firm numbers until he know what the UK's NATO allies - especially the Dutch - were doing.
"But I thought what he did indicate was that there may be a contingency plan which allows the south to be populated, as he calls, it by the Americans, the Canadians, the Australians and the British and of course the Canadians may be prepared to put more up now with their new government.
"So I think we may see an Anglo-Saxon coalition more than a NATO coalition down there."
Nato's International Security Assistance Force mission currently numbers about 9,200 troops.
It is expected to increase the overall number to about 15,000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4646646.stm
:(