From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Britain To Send 6,000 More Troops To Occupy Afghanistan [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Pakistan News Sevice Britain to send in 6,000 more troops LONDON, Nov 18 (PNS): BRITAIN is planning to deploy up to 6,000 troops in Afghanistan, far more than originally envisaged, defence sources said. Two British brigades are now likely to be sent in to try to prevent a recurrence of the bloody internecine warfare that followed the fall of the city to the Northern Alliance in 1992, according to The Telegraph. Although officials continued to say publicly that no decision on whether to deploy troops had been taken, privately the sources said that it was inevitable that a large British force would be sent into Afghanistan. Geoff Hoon, Defence Secretary, said: "It does depend on what is a very fast-moving situation there. Clearly we are committed to the very long-term reconstruction of Afghanistan." There remain grave concerns over the difficulties the force might face. The alliance continues to insist that it no longer needs the allies' military assistance. The troops will also present an obvious target for the hard core of the Taliban and the al-Qa'eda network, some of whom are determined to fight a guerrilla campaign for control of the country, the sources said. Two battalion-sized units of around 600 men each, 2 Bn, the Parachute Regiment and 45 Commando, Royal Marine, are expected to be ready to fly into Bagram early next week. They may also be joined by 42 Commando, Royal Marine. The lead element is expected to be the Pathfinder Platoon, which is the main reconnaissance unit of 16 Air Assault Bde, a company of paratroopers from 2 Para, and half a dozen officers from the brigade headquarters. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
