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Post by Frenchie on Jul 19, 2009 16:33:34 GMT 1
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is likely to come under increased pressure next month to send more troops and equipment to Afghanistan when a new general takes over command of the British army. General David Richards, a former NATO commander in Afghanistan, will succeed General Richard Dannatt as head of the army at a critical time, with more than 9,000 troops fighting the Taliban, public anger at the death toll rising, and the government under pressure to do more to support the force. In October last year, when his appointment was announced, Richards suggested to the Independent that he wanted to see a surge of up to 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, including 5,000 more British soldiers. His comments came shortly before U.S. President Barack Obama, newly elected, decided to pursue a surge strategy in Afghanistan, sending around 20,000 more U.S. troops to the warzone, some of them to reinforce British units in the south. If Richards does push the line that Britain needs to deploy more forces, echoing calls from Dannatt and other senior military figures in the past week, it will leave him at odds with the government, which has rejected criticism that Britain does not have enough troops or equipment in theatre. More >>
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