Brown: Britain Will Send More Troops to Afghanistan

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (File)

Britain's prime minister says the UK will send more troops to Afghanistan if other allies do the same. Speaking on British radio, BBC's Radio Four, Gordon Brown said he's confident of that support.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said British envoys are being sent out to talk with coalition partners and NATO allies to make the case for sending more troops to Afghanistan.

"We are prepared to put more troops into Afghanistan, there must be burden-sharing among the alliance," he said.

Britain currently has 9,000 troops in Afghanistan and is proposing sending 500 more, but it wants other allies - not including the United States - to send another 5,000 troops as well.

Prime Minister Brown said he's confident other countries will step forward. Success is possible, he said, with the right strategy and an end game plan in sight.

"You cannot be an occupying army forever," he said. "What you've got to do is pass control to local people who then can take control of their own affairs and that is what our strategy is."

The prime minister said crucial to that strategy is building up Afghan local and national government institutions and practices to make sure Afghan President Hamid Karzai is able to tackle some major issues.

"We've got to have an indication from President Karzai - his inauguration comes very soon - that he will tackle the very problems that have given some succor to the Taliban and that is corruption, and that is poor governance and that is the quality of district governors," he said. "The question in my view is not his willingness to do it. He is willing to do this. The question is making sure that delivery of it is satisfactory."

The prime minister said Britain's strategy is in line with the views of the Obama administration in Washington.

President Barrack Obama is currently reviewing U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and has yet to decide whether to send additional troops to the country and how many. The United States currently has a 70,000 strong force in Afghanistan and is considering sending up to 40,000 more.

Some 100,000 U.S. and NATO troops are currently in Afghanistan, but increasingly casualty figures and concerns about a growing Taliban threat and an ineffective and corrupt Afghan government have led to diminishing public support for the war.