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UK troops set to be stood down

Geoff Hoon
Hoon: Move is being officially described as "flexibility"  


LONDON, England -- British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is expected to announce that 6,000 British troops have been taken off 48-hour standby to go to Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman would not confirm an announcement would definitely be made, but said if it was it would reflect the changing nature of the situation on the ground.

The spokesman also stressed that the situation could change rapidly and that if troops were taken off alert, they could still be put back on standby in future.

"What comes down can always go up again," he said. "It is one of the strengths of our armed forces that we are able to respond quickly and flexibly to changing situations."

He said that the situation had changed with the fall of Kabul.

The 6,000 troops of 42 Royal Marines Commando and the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment then had their five-day battle-readiness alert reduced to a 48-hour standby.

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"When Blair put the troops on alert earlier this month the situation in Afghanistan was much less stable," he said.

"Obviously when Kabul fell it was a period of great uncertainty and there were widespread predictions of a possible bloodbath.

"That hasn't materialised. Aid is getting in. The position on the ground is a lot more stable than anyone could have predicted."

Ten days ago Britain deployed an advance party of 85 Royal Marines into Bagram airbase, north of the Afghan capital Kabul, earlier this month and it was expected a much larger force would follow.

But there was opposition to the British troops presence from the Northern Alliance.

CNN's Diana Muriel said that the new British emphasis on flexibility came as confusion mounted on European nations' military role in the conflict.

Cracks were beginning to appear in the coalition over the long-term role of any military mission in Afghanistan, she said.

The Germans have sent a cargo aircraft to a Turkish airbase on standby for use in Afghanistan and the French have sent special forces to Uzbekistan ready to secure an airfield near Mazar-e Sharif. Muriel said that in the face of Northern Alliance opposition to British troops and what is being seen as limited U.S. support for UK ground forces, Britain appeared to be back-tracking on sending its forces.

UK marines
British marines found they were unwelcome with the Northern Alliance  

The U.S. has stressed its main target is the destruction of the al Qaeda network and the arrest of its leader Osama bin Laden, suspected by the U.S. for involvement in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

But British ministers had argued that a large troop presence was necessary to secure aid supplies.

The latest British position is that they will provide troops if invited by the new Afghan government.

Analysts have detected a different approach between U.S. President George W. Bush and the UK's Blair, with more apparent readiness from Blair to commit troops in the long term for a "nation rebuilding" programme.



 
 
 
 


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