UK pledges $900M for Afghan battle

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday his government will spend £450 million ($900 million) in Afghanistan over the next five years for development and stabilization, and he promised more equipment -- including helicopters and armored vehicles -- for British forces serving there.

The moves are part of a "long-term and comprehensive framework" for political, social, and economic development in Afghanistan, Brown told the House of Commons.

Brown's plan involves Afghan soldiers, police, and politicians gradually taking over responsibility for their own security, and supporting them in building up their country's institutions. The promised money will also help with reconstruction.

The money, which Brown plans to distribute between 2009 and 2012, will fund short- and long-term projects, Brown said.

"We will help ensure through reconstruction and development that more Afghan people have an economic stake in the future," Brown said, "and to underpin this, greater burden-sharing by all partners and allies, each of us playing our parts as hard-headed realists, not idealists."

Fresh from a visit to Afghanistan earlier this week, Brown said the 7,800 British troops currently in Afghanistan will stay. He also said the number of British military and police trainers in Afghanistan will increase, with the goal of having 70,000 trained Afghan soldiers in place next year.

Brown also promised to increase support for the British forces in Afghanistan by providing 150 new "protected patrol vehicles" and increasing the number of Sea King helicopters in the country. He said Britain would also take out new contracts for leasing commercial helicopters, thus "freeing up the military helicopters for military tasks."

The prime minister's promise on equipment -- especially helicopters -- comes as changing Taliban tactics have put choppers in more demand than ever before.

Coalition troops have pushed out from Afghan cities to more remote bases in an effort to win the support of local residents. But as they have done so, the Taliban have begun targeting resupply routes on the ground, effectively cutting off the remote outposts from anything but helicopter resupply.

Mid-level officers have privately expressed frustration that they lack the troops to dominate the ground and keep the road routes open. It means helicopters are in high demand and short supply; NATO recently issued an urgent call for more.

Brown said he would also ask Britain's NATO partners to contribute helicopters.

"I've approached a number of governments around Europe, particularly Eastern Europe who are not involved with the same numbers in the same effort in Afghanistan and asked them to provide particularly helicopters to support the NATO effort," Brown said.

Brown visited Afghanistan on Monday, meeting with Afghan leaders and British troops who are part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. His trip coincided with the start of a two-day operation by Afghan and coalition troops to capture Musa Qaleh, the last significant town in the southern Helmand province still under Taliban control.

The Afghan and coalition troops captured the town on Tuesday, and Brown said the victory was indicative of wider success.

"We are winning the battle against the Taliban insurgency," he said. "We are isolating and eliminating the leadership of the Taliban. We are not negotiating with them."

While Musa Qaleh's capture means the coalition and Afghan troops have denied the Taliban a safe haven, it leaves them still vulnerable to the insurgents' shifting tactics.

For any insurgents who lay down their arms, however, Brown said there could be a place in the Afghan government.

"If they are prepared to renounce violence and abide by the constitution and respect human rights, then there is a place for them in the legitimate society and economy of Afghanistan," Brown said. E-mail to a friend