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US will send 34,000 more troops but not until March
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent09.11.09
British military chiefs today called for a swift troop surge in Afghanistan amid reports that extra US forces may not arrive until March.
President Obama is said to be favouring sending a further 34,000 US military personnel to the country.
But it could be four months before the first additional soldiers start arriving, according to reports, with the reinforcement being completed by the end of next year.
Mr Obama's announcement on a troop surge, as recommended by US General Stanley McChrystal, may also be delayed for two weeks as part of attempts to get other Nato countries to bolster support for the battle against the Taliban.
Other reports, though, suggested he could signal backing for deploying more troops within days.
A senior Ministry of Defence source told the Standard that it was hoped that the reinforcements could be sent more quickly. "There is a sense of frustration," he said.
"If the McChrystal plan is going to be implemented, why the delay?" Concerns are growing that soldiers are dying in Afghanistan while politicians take their time in deciding on a new strategy.
After a seventh meeting with his defence advisers, Mr Obama was said to be veering towards supporting a middle option proposed by General McChrystal, the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan.
This would see the deployment of 23,000 extra combat and support troops from the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division and marines.
In addition, a new headquarters would be set up in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and 4,000 more US servicemen and women would beef up the training of the Afghan army and police. The rest would be sent in later.
Gordon Brown has pledged a further 500 British troops but other European nations have been accused of failing to pull their weight.
Two more British soldiers were killed in separate blasts in Afghanistan at the weekend.
A soldier from the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, died after an explosion in the Sangin area of the southern Helmand province on Saturday.
A serviceman from 4th Battalion, The Rifles, died in a blast in the same area on Remembrance Day, bringing the UK military death toll to 232. Eight British soldiers have died in the country this month alone.
As the latest opinion polls show public support for the mission crumbling, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth called on the country to "show some resolution". He said the campaign was directly linked to the national security of the UK and that failure would be a "disaster".
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup acknowledged that progress was "painful, slow and halting" but he insisted that the mission was "do-able".
