BBC: UK could put 2,000 more troops in Afghanistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
British officials think US President-elect Barack Obama will press them to contribute as many as 2,000 additional troops to fight in Afghanistan and that the UK will have a hard time turning him down, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday. Despite warnings that Britain's military is overstretched by commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, the BBC said government ministers were considering sending reinforcements to Afghanistan in anticipation of a request from Obama, who takes office early next year. Obama has repeatedly called for an increase in troops in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban and al-Qaida there. He has said he plans to add about 7,000 or 8,000 US troops to the NATO mission, and British officials think he will lean on the UK to increase their contribution as well, the BBC said. It cited unnamed ministers and officials as the sources of its report.