World News 18-12-2001 Christmas In Kabul For 1,500 More Brits who: Tony Blair what: Says 1,500 British troops will lead new Afghan peacekeeping force where: House of Commons, LONDON when: Yesterday snippet: "Britain is set to commit up to 1,500 troops to an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan," reports The Evening Standard after the prime minister announced that British soldiers could be leading a 5,000-strong force in Kabul by the end of this week. "Mr Blair said he expected the force to stay in Afghanistan for several months and to comprise troops from EU and other countries," says The Independent. "These might include Argentina, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Jordan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Turkey." But in the House of Lords, former defence chiefs sent a grave warning to Tony Blair told MPs that Britain was already "dangerously overcommitted" to the wear in Afghanistan. "In what looked like an organised move," comments The Guardian`s chief political correspondent Patrick Wintour, "four former defence chiefs, Lords Guthrie, Bramall, Inge and Craig, used a debate on Afghanistan in the Lords to express fears about the cost of the prime minister`s international ambition." Lord Inge, chief of defence staff between 1994 and 1997, characterised the War on Terror as vague and fraught with danger. The government "should be in no doubt about the challenge we may be asking our armed forces to undertake," he said, "at a time when they are dangerously overcommitted and under-recruited". [... more]

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