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British Plans For Afghan Troop Deployment Stalled
LONDON, Nov 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Long-expected plans for a mass deployment of British troops in Afghanistan appeared to have stalled Wednesday amid reports of opposition to the move by the Northern Alliance and the United States, news agencies reported.
For the last week, 6,000 British soldiers have been on 48-hour standby to be sent into the country.
International Development Secretary Clare Short warned that further delays in the deployment of British and other foreign troops could cause a humanitarian crisis if aid agencies were not given protection in delivering relief supplies.
Humanitarian agencies had repeatedly lamented that the U.S. air strikes had hindered their abilities to get the much-needed aid to the Afghan people; in addition, a Red Cross warehouse holding food supplies was struck twice by U.S. missiles.
Her comments were the first acknowledgement by a government minister that troops had been set to go into Afghanistan in large numbers earlier this week, but that the operation had been put on hold.
Both Downing Street and the defense ministry have repeatedly denied that there has been any postponement.
Short told the BBC, "As everyone knows, we and the French were ready to go - and others talking about going - to be there briefly while order is established and a new government is established, and there has been delay. That is regrettable.
"We haven't got a crisis yet but if there was a big delay and a lot of disorder then we could get a terrible amount of human suffering."
Short did not say who was responsible for the delay. But Downing Street has made it clear that Washington is in command of all operations in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament that the fast-changing situation on the ground meant that decisions on troops had to be changeable at short notice.
"How and when and where we deploy [troops] is a matter we can decide day by day and we should retain the flexibility to do so as we wish."
Around 100 British commandos flew into Bagram airfield, northeast of Kabul, on November 15 in a deployment expected to pave the way for several thousand more troops.
The arrival of the commandos had been greeted with deep mistrust, with Northern Alliance defense minister General Mohammad Quassim Fahim saying they were operating without his agreement.
Even though Northern Alliance leaders later softened their line, they do not want to see more foreign soldiers in Afghanistan in any operation that could challenge their military dominance, according to media reports.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Britain would talk to the Northern Alliance before deploying forces in areas it held.
He told a London news conference that "If the Northern Alliance were effectively in control of the region concerned, then yes, there would be discussion with the Northern Alliance to begin with."
Meanwhile, The Guardian newspaper, quoting defense sources, reported Wednesday that Britain may decide not to deploy more troops and could even withdraw its 100 commandos already there.
Citing another reason for delaying a mass deployment of British troops, The Times and The Independent dailies have said that London is at odds with the United States -- reports denied by both London and Washington.
The papers said that Washington was more concerned with hunting down Osama bin Laden, chief suspect for the September 11 terrorist strikes in the U.S., and getting rid of the Taliban regime which has been sheltering him, instead of setting up a force to aid humanitarian activity.
But the prime minister told the lower parliament, the House of Commons, "There is complete agreement [with the U.S.], both on the military objectives of removing the Taliban regime, which I am pleased to say is largely now achieved, on making sure we pursue and hunt down the terrorist network of al-Qa'eda, which we have made considerable progress on."
Straw said earlier that al-Qa'eda, headed by bin Laden, had been "largely broken up" following the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
Blair has previously said that any troops deployed would focus on protecting humanitarian supply routes, securing airfields, ensuring the safe return of United Nations and aid agency staff, and bomb disposal.
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