http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/News...AIN-TROOPS.xml
LONDON (Reuters) - The government announced 3,300 new troops as part of a major mission to southern Afghanistan on Thursday, without waiting for NATO allies who have so far failed to commit to sending forces.
The new deployment, announced in parliament by Defence Secretary John Reid, will take Britain's total force in Afghanistan to 5,700 after it assumes command of a NATO mission there in May.
The troops would take the NATO force into the dangerous south of the country for the first time. Until now, NATO has operated in the north and west, but the more volatile south has been patrolled by the United States outside NATO.
The announcement of the British mission to the south has been expected for months but has been held up as other European countries dragged their feet, notably the Netherlands, which has yet to confirm whether it will contribute 1,200 troops.
Reid said he had spoken to his Dutch and Danish counterparts earlier on Thursday. Previously he had said he would not announce the UK force until he was satisfied that allies would provide enough troops.
Asked if Britain would be left to fill a potential gap left by the Dutch or others, Reid said London would not commit more troops and expected NATO to provide the necessary numbers.
"Over and beyond the troop numbers I have mentioned, no, we are not going to plug any gaps for others," he told parliament.
Reid expressed confidence all NATO nations would decide to join the mission and said he hoped Britain's troop announcement would have a "catalyst" effect on other countries' decisions.
JULY OPERATIONAL DATE
He said he aimed for the new British mission to be operational by July, several months after Britain takes over command of the NATO peace force.
The team will include Apache attack helicopters as well as a "provincial reconstruction team" aiding the rebuilding of Afghanistan, under a Canadian commander reporting to the British commander in Kabul.
The government acknowledges that the mission to the south, where American troops have fought Taliban guerrillas, is more dangerous than the existing NATO mission. But as Washington's main ally, it wants other European countries to share the risk.
"The risks are nothing when compared to the dangers to our country of allowing Afghanistan to fall back into the clutches of the Taliban and international terrorism," Reid said.
The UK forces would not have a counter-terrorism role, which will still be handled by the U.S.-led coalition in the south, but would have enough muscle to respond "robustly" if attacked.
The 3,300 new troops are in addition to about 1,000 extra troops that Britain has promised for the headquarters in Kabul when it takes over NATO's ISAF Afghan peacekeeping mission, and about 1,000 in place already in the north.
Engineers will be sent to help build a base, and Reid said the total British force in Afghanistan would peak at about 5,700 and then stabilise at about 4,700.
They would form part of a NATO force that would expand to more than 18,000 troops countrywide, including about 9,000 in the south, Reid said.
The United States has about 18,000 troops in the south, but expects to reduce their numbers as NATO takes more responsibility for that part of the country.