Britain open to more troops in Afghanistan, Miliba
« Thread Started on Nov 28, 2008, 4:57am »

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Britain open to more troops in Afghanistan, Miliband says
Posted: 04:23 AM ET
LONDON, England (CNN) — Britain is open to requests from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to boost troop levels in Afghanistan, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in an interview published Friday.

“If there are requests for help, we’ll look at them hard,” Miliband told The Daily Telegraph. “We have never been in blanket refusal.”

Britain currently has about 8,050 troops in Afghanistan, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said. There are currently no plans to send in more.

Obama met this week with Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to a U.S. military official with direct knowledge of the talks. The meeting came as Mullen is reviewing a formal request for forces from commanders in the field for 15,000 to 20,000 additional troops to send to Afghanistan in early 2009.

British military commanders have warned against boosting troop levels in Afghanistan.