British PM wants 5,000 more foreign troops in Afghanistan

LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday he was trying to persuade NATO partners in Europe and other allies to commit 5,000 troops to the Afghanistan war.
Brown told British radio he was sending envoys to fellow European countries in a bid to get them to share the burden.
“I’m asking them to help, I think we can probably get another 5,000 forces into Afghanistan from that NATO and outside NATO group, and we’ll be part of that. “I have taken the responsibility of asking others in Europe, and outside Europe actually, if they will back this strategy which is partnering the Afghan forces, mentoring the Afghan forces.
“I believe I can persuade countries who said only a few weeks ago they would send no more troops to Afghanistan, that if we are training the Afghan forces and partnering, and if there is a way forward that allows our troops to come home over time, it’s right for them to contribute troops as well, and so burden-sharing will happen.”
Britain has around 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, largely in the troubled southern Helmand Province where they are battling Taliban insurgents.