U.K. Plans 2,000 More Afghan Troops

Source: UPI

LONDON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Britain announced plans Sunday to send 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan to help American efforts to train more Afghan troops and police.

The Sunday Times of London reported the measure will be part of a plan to more than double Afghan forces.

"We have talked about (the plan) with the British, but also with those who don't have troops on the ground but understand the importance of this," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after discussions with David Miliband, British secretary of state for foreign affairs.

The newspaper reported American sources close to U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said he probably would request an increase of Afghan police and army troops from 150,000 to about 400,000, requiring 12,000 military
trainers in total.

more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/08/02/UK-plans-2000-more-Afghan-troops/UPI-98251249241168/

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the military mission had failed to deliver on its promises as troops had too many tasks.
>
The committee of MPs said that "mission creep" had brought too many responsibilities, including fighting the drugs trade.
>
One member of the MPs' committee, former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, said the government had failed to set out the precise terms of the mission.

"We've been drawn into things like counter-narcotics strategy, nation building - and that, we believe, has dissipated our effort," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8180420.stm

The emphasis on our radio and tv news here is on the last sentence above in relation to the original objectiv being solely to fight the "war on terror".