British General Takes Control of Nato Troops in Fight Against Taliban

A British general took command of an expanded Nato force in Afghanistan today, vowing to "strike ruthlessly" against the Taliban as the west's military alliance prepared to conduct land combat operations for the first time in its 57-year history.

Lieutenant General David Richards, commander of Nato's international security assistance force, Isaf, based in Kabul, took over a multinational force in southern Afghanistan where British, US, Canadian, Dutch, and other troops face a dangerous mix of Taliban fighters, corrupt officials, opium farmers and drug dealers.

Over recent weeks US and British troops, mainly from Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, have confronted Taliban fighters and their supporters in a surge of violence that has killed an estimated 700 militants and 19 western troops, including six British soldiers. British commanders have been surprised by what they refer to as the "virulence" of Taliban fighters. They have also expressed concern about their soldiers being overextended in forward bases.

Gen Richards, a veteran of successful peacemaking missions in Sierra Leone and East Timor, is the first British officer to command American troops in ground operations since the second world war. Nato officials have described his task as a vital test, to demonstrate the continuing relevance of an organisation set up in 1949 to fight the cold war.

"We will retain the capability and will to strike ruthlessly at the enemies of Afghanistan when required," the British general said.

Nato forces are now deployed in northern, western, and southern Afghanistan. By the end of the year, the US wants Nato troops to take over from American ground forces now deployed in the east of the country. That would leave the US in command of its continuing Operation Enduring Freedom, with its special forces and aircraft trying to track down al-Qaida remnants in the mountains bordering Pakistan.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Nato secretary general, said yesterday: "This is one of the most challenging tasks Nato has ever taken on, but it is a critical contribution to international security, and a demonstration of our commitment to the people of Afghanistan."

Gen Richards said his new command was "in one sense historic". He added: "Also it is important for the world that Afghanistan is not allowed to be tipped back to its pre-9/11 state and allow a Taliban lookalike government with its sympathies to come back into power."

The general continued: "Nato is here for the long term, for as long as the government and people of Afghanistan require our assistance. We are committed to Afghanistan and its future." He referred to malign forces "perpetuating a cycle of oppression, murder and poverty".

Gen Richards has not been afraid to speak his mind in the past, notably over arguments between competing foreign agencies in Afghanistan and the role of private security companies. He has also made it clear that Nato forces are short of equipment, including helicopters and medical support.

He will command some 18,000 Nato troops in Afghanistan, including 4,500 British soldiers based in Helmand province, a centre of opium poppy cultivation where the writ of President Hamid Karzai's central government scarcely runs.

The general's priority will be to set up "secure zones" in southern Afghanistan and build up the local infrastructure - measures designed to show the local population that Nato troops are improving their life in practical ways, for example through building roads and irrigation schemes.

Nato troops are also training recruits to the new Afghan national army as well as its police forces. That programme, and the problem of divided loyalties, is proving difficult, just as it is in Iraq.

In Afghanistan yesterday a bomb in a police car killed at least eight people. The blast occurred in the eastern city of Jalalabad, far from where Nato took over command of foreign troops in the south of the country at a ceremony on a base outside Kandahar.

The bomb in Jalalabad targeted the convoy of Gul Afgha Sherzai, the governor of Nangarhar, as it drove away from a mosque where thousands of people had gathered to offer prayers for a former mujahideen commander, who died last week. Sherzai escaped unhurt, but officials said five police and three children were killed while 16 other people were wounded.