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Britain 'could send more troops' to Afghanistan
Britain could send more troops to Afghanistan as force levels in Iraq are cut next year, the head of the armed forces indicated last night.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, said the pressure of maintaining forces in two theatres over a prolonged period meant it could not simply be a "one-for-one transfer".
But the need for the forces to recuperate did not mean Britain "couldn't or shouldn't" do more in Afghanistan if it judged it to be necessary, he said.
In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute military think tank in London, he stressed it was important any additional commitment to Afghanistan could be sustained.
"We are currently doing more than we are structured or resourced for over the long-term," he said.
"So reducing our operational tempo to a more sustainable level as quickly as possible is an important consideration in the strategic balance that we seek to strike. So we cannot simply make a one-for-one transfer from Iraq to Afghanistan.
"I'm not saying that we couldn't or shouldn't do more in Afghanistan if we judge that to be necessary. What I am saying is that we have to be able to sustain whatever we do."
United States President-elect Barack Obama is expected to appeal to Nato allies to contrib-ute additional forces to a new troop "surge" in Afghanistan when he takes office next year.
Senior British commanders have previously been reluctant to commit extra forces, believing that the Army in particular needs time to recover.
But Sir Jock's intervention suggests that commanders are now willing to consider sending at least some troops.
He said numbers in Iraq were set to fall "dramatically" next year as Britain prepared to hand over its base at Basra airport. But he was cautious about what coalition forces could achieve in Afghanistan.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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