Gordon Brown Says Extra Troops Will Need to Stay in Afghanistan
Hundreds more UK soldiers needed to train Afghan army and police, PM claims
Britain is to retain an extra 700 troops in Afghanistan after the presidential election in the autumn, to oversee the faster training of an expanded Afghan army and police, Downing Street indicated today.
Gordon Brown also said the Afghan army would have to expand beyond the planned complement of 130,000 by the end of next year. He made clear that the extra troops would be needed to stay in Afghanistan to train the still nascent army, and the highly corrupt police force.
The prime minister also claimed that President Hamid Karzai had agreed to send more Afghan troops to Helmand province, after it emerged that fewer than 6,000 Afghan soldiers out of a nominal army of more than 92,000 were fighting alongside American and British forces in the critical battleground.
Brown told the Commons liaison committee of MPs: "I'm very clear that the Afghan army has got to do more. I'm very clear that where we are in Helmand, we need the complement of more Afghan troops and police. And I'm also clear that we have a role to play, and it will be a continuing role after the election, for some of our troops to mentor and train the Afghan security forces."
In a four-hour special Commons debate, the former defence secretary John Reid said people were right to ask whether the "present resources meet the present tasks". But the current defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, said: "We have the manpower we need for the current operation."
However he admitted "we should brace ourselves for further casualties". He said "it was cruel to pretend we will be able to stop our people from dying by providing more helicopters, or more vehicles. It is dangerous work."
David Miliband, the foreign secretary, fended off suggestions that British forces were suffering a shortage of helicopters, saying they had full access to all Nato regional command south helicopters.
The aim of the current surge in Helmand is to ensure that 70% of the population in eight districts come under government control, and that elections are possible in 10 of the 13 district centers in Helmand.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said Whitehall had a lack of grip on the war, with no single figure dedicated to prosecuting the conflict day by day. He said the task was to "shape, clear, hold and build", but questioned whether the second two tasks were being completed properly at present.Many backbenchers warned that public support for the war in Afghanistan was fragile, and that the mission was being poorly explained.
Gordon Brown also said the Afghan army would have to expand beyond the planned complement of 130,000 by the end of next year. He made clear that the extra troops would be needed to stay in Afghanistan to train the still nascent army, and the highly corrupt police force.
The prime minister also claimed that President Hamid Karzai had agreed to send more Afghan troops to Helmand province, after it emerged that fewer than 6,000 Afghan soldiers out of a nominal army of more than 92,000 were fighting alongside American and British forces in the critical battleground.
Brown told the Commons liaison committee of MPs: "I'm very clear that the Afghan army has got to do more. I'm very clear that where we are in Helmand, we need the complement of more Afghan troops and police. And I'm also clear that we have a role to play, and it will be a continuing role after the election, for some of our troops to mentor and train the Afghan security forces."
In a four-hour special Commons debate, the former defence secretary John Reid said people were right to ask whether the "present resources meet the present tasks". But the current defence secretary, Bob Ainsworth, said: "We have the manpower we need for the current operation."
However he admitted "we should brace ourselves for further casualties". He said "it was cruel to pretend we will be able to stop our people from dying by providing more helicopters, or more vehicles. It is dangerous work."
David Miliband, the foreign secretary, fended off suggestions that British forces were suffering a shortage of helicopters, saying they had full access to all Nato regional command south helicopters.
The aim of the current surge in Helmand is to ensure that 70% of the population in eight districts come under government control, and that elections are possible in 10 of the 13 district centers in Helmand.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said Whitehall had a lack of grip on the war, with no single figure dedicated to prosecuting the conflict day by day. He said the task was to "shape, clear, hold and build", but questioned whether the second two tasks were being completed properly at present.Many backbenchers warned that public support for the war in Afghanistan was fragile, and that the mission was being poorly explained.
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