Gordon Brown meets with Afghanistan President Karzai
By Elizabeth Gorrie
Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a new strategy today to deal with terrorism, as he warned of a “chain of terror” breaking out in the mountainous region of Afghanistan and linking to capital cities worldwide.
Brown called for British provinces to be handed over to the Afghanistan Government as happened in Iraq. He also wants to expand the Afghan army from 75,000 to 135,000, in addition to expanding the police force. Britain will also contribute financially toward the elections in Afghanistan.
Speaking to the BBC today while visiting British troops in Helmand Province, Brown said: “These border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan are the breeding ground, the crucible of terrorism…We will tackle it because security in these mountainous border areas, which may seem distant and remote from home, will mean more security in Britain.”
After speaking to President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, Mr Brown said that Britain could not “sit by” and watch on. He also commented that the two countries need to work together to eradicate this terrorism, ensuring that terrorism does not reach the other side of the Pakistan border.
