The head of the Army is ready to send up to 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan amid fears that the US-led mission will struggle without significant reinforcements.
General Sir Richard Dannatt told The Times yesterday that elements of 12 Mechanised Brigade — which had been training for deployment to Iraq but were later stood down — had been “earmarked for Afghanistan”.
Downing Street is involved in discussions about a surge. An increase of about 2,000 would take Britain’s troop strength to 10,000. Any decision would require Cabinet approval.
President Obama will announce today an extra 17,000 US troops and a big rise in civilian officials as part of his new strategy in Afghanistan. He will also announce a plan to double the size of the Afghan National Army, with US units training more recruits, and increased aid to fight militants in neighbouring Pakistan.
Ministers and defence chiefs are ready for Mr Obama to make a formal request for more British troops, possibly before Nato’s 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg next week. They are also prepared to make an announcement before such a request arrives.
Mr Hutton also gave a broad hint in a speech yesterday that Britain was considering sending more troops. “We remain, as we have been on many occasions in this past century, grateful to the United States for the leadership that she has shown time and again since 2001 in rooting out extremism and terrorism in Afghanistan,” he said. “But Europe must do more, and it is in our interest to do more.”
A Ministry of Defence source said any decision would be based on advice from the military. “If the clear advice . . . is that we need more people to keep our troops safe, we will make a judgment based on this.”
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