Britain Should Commit More Troops To Afghanistan, Says Former Army Chief

The UK should send 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan to support US President Donald Trump’s new strategy, says a former head of the armed forces.

In an exclusive interview with Forces News, Lord Richards, a former Chief of the Defence Staff, said the UK should step up its military commitment after President Trump promised to deploy a further 4,000 US troops to train Afghan forces and fight the Taliban.

Lord Richards said Britain is already a relatively small contributor to the Afghan Training Mission, adding that "it hurt me when I realised that Germany and Italy have more assets committed to Afghanistan today."

The former Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said that an offer of additional soldiers would help to win back influence in Washington.

“We’re playing a relatively minor role, this is an opportunity to correct that”

In response to President Trump’s speech, the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, said the US commitment was "welcome" but stopped short of pledging an increase in British troops beyond the additional 85 military advisers the UK has already committed.

Lord Richards says that without more western support, the Taliban could strengthen its hold in Afghanistan.

“I see this as a very important moral issue for all of the NATO nations”

There are currently up to 585 British troops stationed in Afghanistan alongside 8,400 American soldiers.

NATO's Op Resolute Support has remained in Afghanistan to train, advise and assist.