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.
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