British Defence Secretary John Reid called Tuesday for several thousand additional NATO troops to be deployed in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Reid suggested that the additional troops will be needed as NATO expands the geographical coverage of its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in the country. The Defence Secretary stressed that they would be drawn from several contributing countries, not just Britain.
He told a briefing of journalists at the Ministry of Defence, in central London, that from next April, NATO forces will be moved from their present locations in the north of the country to a new base in Helmand province in the south. A British-led provincial reconstruction team will be set up at Lashkar Gah. Reid acknowledged that the deployment will be hazardous. "The Taliban are still active in the area. So are drug traffickers. We must be prepared to support, even defend, the provincial reconstruction team," he said. Reid did not put a figure on how many additional troops Britain will commit to ISAF. At present it contributes around 900 personnel to the 11,000-strong force. |