British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was to embrace the central thrust of General Stanley McChrystal’s report into the future of Afghanistan when he spoke yesterday of the need to develop a military and political “push.”
Days before US President Barack Obama spells out US strategy in Afghanistan, Brown was to outline what is being dubbed in London a “McChrystalesque” approach.
In his landmark report, McChrystal, commander of US and NATO forces, recommended a surge of up to 40,000 US troops and a more sophisticated counter-insurgency strategy designed to reassure the Afghan people that NATO troops do not see themselves as occupying forces and that their primary task is to protect local people. Obama will respond to the report on Tuesday.
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Speaking before the biennial Commonwealth heads of government meeting, which opened yesterday in Trinidad and Tobago, Brown was to talk of “the need to complement our military strategy with our political strategy ... and the need therefore for a comprehensive approach to both Afghanistan and Pakistan as we move forward with a strategy to deal with the risk of al-Qaeda and also to deal with the threat of the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan.”
Brown said on Wednesday he had received assurances from NATO countries outside the US that they were prepared to commit an extra 5,000 troops.
The UK does not expect Obama to sign up to every aspect of the McChrystal report and the president may decide on different troop levels, possibly about 30,000.
The White House has made clear that the next stage of its strategy is designed to lead to an eventual withdrawal.
The opening Commonwealth session yesterday was dominated by climate change.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
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