Brown snubs American plea for troop surge in Afghanistan

Gordon Brown has said "No" to Barack Obama's plea for Britain to substantially boost its military force in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister has ruled out sending extra British soldiers for longer than a few months despite the US President calling on Nato allies to deploy more troops in the battle against the Taliban.

Unveiling an updated strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mr Brown confirmed that 700 extra British soldiers will be deployed from July to November this year to cover the Afghan presidential poll in August.

However, Britain has decided not to increase its more permanent force, currently at 8,300. The Americans are pouring up to 21,000 more troops into Afghanistan but British military chiefs have warned of overstretch if thousands of UK soldiers were deployed there as the withdrawal from Iraq takes place. Ministers have accepted that the 8,300-strong British force is sufficient for the task it has been given.

Publishing the "Afpak" strategy, Mr Brown said: "We are shouldering our share of the burden in Afghanistan."

The document, called UK Policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, states that following the presidential election: "(British) force levels will return to an enduring maximum of 8,300 in 2010."

This would include more specialist teams to deal with roadside bombs.

The 30-page AfPak document aims to counter criticism that the Government has no clear strategy for Britain's engagement in Afghanistan.

However, analysts questioned whether there was anything new in the dossier, apart from it being a written, public statement of objectives.

Britain is also expected to play a role in delivering aid and other help for at least two generations in Afghanistan.

Mr Brown said more than £650 million of aid will be given to Pakistan including at least £125,000 for anti-radicalisation education projects in border areas with Afghanistan. He told MPs these areas are the "greatest international priority" as they are "the breeding ground for international terrorists. They are the source of a chain of terror which links the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of Britain."