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Britain resists Afghan call for more troops
AFP - Friday, November 14
LONDON (AFP) - - Britain on Thursday downplayed the prospect of it sending more troops to Afghanistan in the near future, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London.
Speaking a day after two more British soldiers were killed there, and as a poll suggested public support for withdrawing forces, Brown's spokesman reiterated London's long-term military support for Kabul.
"The UK is committed to maintaining troops in Afghanistan until the government of Afghanistan has built sufficient capacity to maintain a stable security situation and the rule of law."
But asked after the Downing Street talks if extra British forces were set to be deployed, he said: "I don't agree with the assertion that we now look like we are sending more troops."
Britain has more than 8,000 troops in Afghanistan, largely battling Taliban insurgents in the south, where two Royal Marines were killed Wednesday while on a joint patrol with Afghan forces in the volatile southern Helmand province.
The threat of a growing Taliban insurgency was highlighted by a new suicide attack Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, which killed an American soldier and at least 10 civilians.
Speculation over a possible change of US strategy, moving focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, has grown as Barack Obama prepares to take over from US President George W. Bush on January 20.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta met British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in London on Wednesday and called openly for more international troops on the frontline in the south of the country.
But the Downing Street spokesman said the talks had focused on how British operations in Afghanistan could be enhanced, rather than the possibility of more troops being sent.
Karzai also did not refer to the prospect of more troops -- and insisted that violence in his country was not getting worse, saying after that talks that it was at the same level "as it was for the past year or two."
"The whole effort is to make it better and to bring violence down," he said in brief remarks cited by the BBC.
The comments came after a poll Wednesday suggested that more than two-thirds -- 68 percent -- of respondents believed British troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan next year. Only 24 percent said British soldiers should stay there.
The Ministry of Defence admitted that the government needed to do more to win public backing for the Afghan conflict.
"These most recent sacrifices demonstrate how important our role is in Afghanistan, fighting terrorism and helping to bring security and stability to the country, said an MoD spokesman.
"It is vital to our own interests here in the UK that we continue with this and we will not allow their sacrifice to be in vain."
Brown's spokesman underlined the importance of British forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, alluding to this week's commemorations of the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I.
"It is important to remember -- particularly this week, when we have been remembering the contribution made across generations by our armed forces -- the ongoing commitment of our soldiers, sailors and airmen in Afghanistan and in Iraq and the contribution they are making to our security," he said.
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Enlarge Photo
British soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrol Afghanistan's Helmand Province in August 2008. Britain has downplayed the prospect of it sending more troops to Afghanistan, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London.
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