More troops 'may go to Afghanistan'(UK)

[cal04]

Defence Secretary John Reid has given the strongest hint yet that more British troops will be sent to Afghanistan, as family and friends mourned a soldier shot dead in an ambush. Mr Reid said Britain would be prepared to play its part to boost coalition forces in the volatile south of the country if others were.However, he insisted reports that as many as 3,000 UK troops would be sent were inaccurate because "I have not made a final decision".

Mr Reid told the BBC's Sunday AM programme: "We will be prepared if others are, and if we can get the resources and the right back up."The indication came the day after a soldier from the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry was killed in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Gunmen ambushed two military vehicles that were travelling between bases in the city - a stronghold of resistance to the former Taliban regime and previously considered safe enough for British troops to patrol without full body armour.

The attack took place just outside one of the country's holiest shrines, the blue mosque that is believed to mark the tomb of the Fourth Caliph, Ali.It was the first major assault on forces in Mazar-e-Sharif since the Taliban were deposed.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said that they were still trying to contact the dead soldier's next of kin, and no details would be released until that process was complete. Five other British troops and a local interpreter were also injured but their condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,1271,-5380333,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704

[radfringe]

1. looks like we're

makin' progress?

[IndianaGreen]

2. I thought Afghanistan was peaceful and quiet

and Karzai was a beloved leader, while our troops and their NATO puppets were being showered with flowers by an appreciative population.

I also thought the women of Afghanistan were free from wearing the evil burqas and could now walk in public unafraid, as Laura Bush promised on that interview she gave to European TV on the eve of the US attack on Afghanistan.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

4. " as Laura Bush promised" - which Cherie echoed nt

[SunDrop23]

3. Huh? That's not possible, Afghanistan is as quiet as Kansas.

Jeez.

[wordpix]

5. that's right, "We're making progress on war on terror"