Miliband: If US asks, we will send Afghan troops
BRITAIN is willing to send more troops to Afghanistan to join an American-led surge, Foreign Secretary David Miliband indicated today.
In an interview, he said the decision would depend on details of the new strategy that Barack Obama is expected to unveil when he takes over at the White House.
"If there are requests for help - economic, social or military - we'll look at them hard," he told the Daily Telegraph. "We've never been in blanket refusal. But the British people don't want to feel it's always us who gets the nod; they want to know that others will do it."
Mr Obama is expected to ask for an extra 2,000 UK troops, taking the total to more than 10,000.
The president-elect has outlined plans to deploy 20,000 extra personnel for a huge offensive to push back Taliban forces and bring security to areas controlled by the elected Afghan government but still suffering regular terrorist attacks.
Britain's formal position is that it wants other Nato countries to share the burden of fighting the Taliban before it sends more soldiers.
There are already 8,100 UK troops in Afghanistan.
Ministers also say Mr Obama must show he is deploying a "hearts and minds" strategy, rather than mere military might.
However, few doubt that if asked Gordon Brown will agree to take part in a surge, which could coincide with further troops withdrawals from Iraq.
Mr Miliband spoke after it was announced that two Royal Marines were killed in action during an attack by insurgents to the north-west of Lashkar Gah in southern Helmand.
Asked if he understood public concerns that the troops were fighting a hopeless war, he said: "The test is whether Britain would be safer if we pulled out now. If the international coalition did that, Afghanistan would fall to the Taliban, and the country that incubated terrorism would become the incubator again."
He added that troops serving in the country must have "the best possible equipment".
A total of 128 British servicemen have died in Afghanistan so far, many from roadside bomb attacks.
