BRITAIN: More troops earmarked for Afghanistan

Alex Miller

Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has announced that nearly 900 additional troops are to be sent to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of British troops there to around 4500.

The July 11 British Guardian reported that an extra 850 British troops are to be sent to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, where six British soldiers have been killed in combat with Taliban fighters in the past month.

According to a July 10 Guardian report, "Afghanistan has been gripped by the bloodiest spate of violence since a US-led invasion toppled the Taliban in 2001 ... A total of 65 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year."

In a bizarre attempt to twist the truth, defence secretary Des Browne tried to represent the deployment of extra troops as a result of British military success! BBC News reported on July 10 that Browne had said that "the need for extra troops did not mean that the government had underestimated the task for soldiers, instead it was because of troops' success".

The BBC quoted Browne as saying: "Our commanders on the ground discovered there were opportunities beyond the area we had first planned to deliver security." Browne's upbeat assessment is not shared by senior British military figures. According to the July 11 Guardian, "Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the chief of the defence staff, admitted Britain's armed forces were 'stretched' and that this was causing 'some pain for families'".

From Green Left Weekly, July 19, 2006.

Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

From GLW issue 675