UK TO SEND 500 MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN
Panorama.am
18:42 14/10/2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is increasing British troop levels in
Afghanistan to 9,500 — an increase of 500, he announced Wednesday,
CNN reported.
"We will now move further and faster with our strategy" of training
Afghan forces to take responsibility for the country’s security,
he said.
The British have the second-largest contingent in Afghanistan,
after the United States, which has about 31,800, according to NATO’s
International Security Assistance Force.
Opposition leader David Cameron of the Conservative Party immediately
challenged Brown to explain why he was sending 500 troops rather than
the 2,000 which Cameron said military commanders wanted.
Brown said he made his decision based on military advice and in
consultation with allies including the United States.
Before making his statement in Parliament, Brown paid tribute to
the 37 British troops who had been killed in Afghanistan during the
lawmakers’ summer vacation, naming each individually.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
