British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the Afghan government in Kabul and with British troops in Helmand Province yesterday and is on to Pakistan today. Brown was there to show his support for his nation’s troops and offer support to President Karzai and his government. Brown announced that he would ‘announce‘ a new British strategy for the conflict involving both Afghanistan and Pakistan this Wednesday, and it is expected to piggy-back on many of the proposals of the Obama administration: advocating a build up of police and military, more aid for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and more effective cooperation between the Afghan and Pakistan governments in dealing with the insurgents that plague them both.
Brown also reiterated his pledge of 700 more troops to the country during the upcoming election season (though some question whether this can be accomplished) and attempted to bring the Central Asian conflict closer to home. He did this by calling the borderland between Afghanistan and Pakistan the ‘crucible of terrorism’, arguing that most of the terrorist attacks that have occurred in Britain, including 7.7, were incubated and organized here. He went on to state; “A chain of terror links these areas to the streets of many of the capital cities of the world.” In other words, what happens in Afghanistan/Pakistan matters to the West in a concrete way.
Of course the lack of commitment by many European NATO members, shown in their lack of donated resources, men and the restrictions they put on their troops, could easily make one say that they do not see the conflict as that dangerous to their home interests and safety. Brown seemed to want to separate Britain from the rest of Europe in this regard and to hopefully change their minds about their commitment.
Brown went on to assert: “We are confident that we are shouldering our share of the burden.” One would mostly have to agree as Britain’s over 7,000 troops have been facing heavy fighting in Afghan’s Helmand Province, one of the most dangerous and insurgent-filled regions. In fact, 52 British soldiers were killed in battle last year, by far the largest total of any year during the war so far.
*Brown’s Predecessor, Tony Blair, made an inspired speech advocating the West remain strong-willed in their fight against radical, violent Islamism and authoritarian regimes around the world.
