Britain to Send More Troops to Afghanistan

Britain announced Monday that it will deploy an infantry battle group of 1,700 in Afghanistan, its largest military deployment for combat operations since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Defense Minister Geoff Hoon said that the United States had asked Britain to join future operations against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and that the British force--built around a Royal Marines commando unit--would be fully integrated with U.S. troops.

“This group will join a U.S.-led brigade, forming a potent force ready to undertake such operations,” Hoon told the House of Commons.

He said that the force would initially go to Bagram air base north of Kabul, the Afghan capital, and that the first members of 45 Commando Group would be on the ground within days. The force would be ready to begin offensive operations by mid-April “in support of the wider coalition war against terrorism,” Hoon said.

On Tuesday, Britain will hand over command of the Kabul multinational brigade, the subordinate headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force, to a German unit, Hoon said.

The United States commands the war effort in Afghanistan, including the peacekeeping operation in Kabul, although Britain has had day-to-day command of the multinational force and has had 1,800 troops taking part.

British forces joined the U.S.-led coalition shortly after Sept. 11 and have already participated in reconnaissance and air-to-air refueling flights. On the ground they have engaged in operations against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

“But for all the progress that we have made in Afghanistan, the threat of attack from Al Qaeda and Taliban-related groupings and individuals across the country remains high,” Hoon said.

In addition to 18 helicopters and four amphibious landing craft already in the area, three Chinook helicopters will be sent with the commandos.

“These troops are being deployed to Afghanistan to take part in war-fighting operations. We will be asking them to risk their lives. Their missions will be conducted in unforgiving and hostile terrain against a dangerous enemy,” Hoon said.

“No government ever makes such decisions without reaching the absolute conviction that it is something that must be done,” he said.