Bush and Blair clash over troops

A dangerous gap appears to be opening up between Britain and America about military action in Afghanistan, Whitehall sources say today.

Tony Blair is eager to commit large forces to "take a grip" on the chaotic situation in the country, while George Bush is deeply unwilling to do more than deploy special forces to destroy Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leadership.

After five days of stop-go between London and Washington about sending in troops, with Britain's Prime Minister urging action and the Washington administration reluctant, Mr Blair has failed to rouse US enthusiasm for large-scale deployment.

The advance force of 100 Royal Marines at Bagram air base outside Kabul is today surrounded by hostile Northern Alliance fighters. Plans to commit more than 2,000 British troops at the weekend, for possible peacekeeping and support for special forces operations, have been thrown into reverse. A small French force is still scheduled to land in northern Afghanistan, but no more British troops will be sent until the Northern Alliance agrees to their coming.

The cause of the present allied disarray seems to be Washington's unexpected reluctance, if not outright refusal, to send in forces for a long and indefinite mission, when air power and special forces are already close to achieving America's key objectives, deposing the Taliban and destroying the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan.

Fears are being expressed in America that the country could become "another Vietnam". Yet Mr Blair believes very strongly that, having precipitated the conflict, the allies now have a responsibility to ensure stability and a transfer to a new Afghan government. Without large numbers of foreign troops on the ground, the country seems likely to lapse into anarchy.

President Bush continues to enjoy unprecedented support from an American public mesmerised by the hunt for Bin Laden and preoccupied with thoughts of revenge for the more than 5,000 dead in the attacks of 11 September. There has been almost no discussion of a longer-term strategy to bring lasting peace to the region at any level.

It had been planned for 2,000 men of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and 45 Commando Royal Marines to be put on the ground by this morning to help distribute aid delivered by air to Bagram airport.

On Thursday some 100 Royal Marines of the Special Boat Service and 40 Commando arrived.

"We are undergoing an operational pause - while politics catches up," said a senior commander at the weekend. The leading units of 2 Para had been due to fly to Oman on Saturday, to arrive at Bagram by this morning. They were to be joined by the headquarters of 16 Air Assault Brigade and 45 Commando from today.

However, leaders of the Jamiat Islami party of the Northern Alliance have repeated that the British troops are uninvited by them, and are not wanted.

Abdullah Abdullah, the foreign minister of the group now claiming to be the restored legitimate government in Kabul, has said only 15 of the Royal Marines at Bagram can stay. The US government has said it is not interested in aid and stabilisation missions to Kabul, and has said that US forces will concentrate on hunting down Bin Laden and cannot pursue the war and humanitarian operations at the same time.

While the muddle over the British troops is sorted out, the battle against the Taliban continues. Fighting has been reported overnight in the northern city of Kunduz, where negotiations for the surrender of the Taliban were due to resume today. The Taliban are still reported to be in control of the southern city of Kandahar.

The Northern Alliance in Kabul has agreed to join talks for a new coalition government due to be convened by the UN in the United Arab Emirates later this week.

In Kunduz, the last outpost of the Taliban in northern Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance Commander Atiqullah Barylai is preparing an all-out assault in the city if the fighters defending it do not surrender.

He said 100 Taliban had defected over the weekend, and talks were due to resume this morning with the local Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah and the Kunduz governor Haji Omar Khan. The Taliban could surrender their heavy weapons and foreign al Qaeda fighters to the UN, Barylai has said.

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