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Jan. 25 (Press TV) - The London conference on Afghanistan is likely to add five more years to the serving time of British troops in the war-torn country, according to a leaked document.
A leaked draft of the communiqué that will conclude this week's strategy conference will see British Premier Gordon Brown announcing that troops will remain in volatile Helmand province, The Times daily reported Monday.
The controversial move is likely to reignite public anger against the unpopular and deadly presence, especially amidst families of soldiers killed during the already eight-year-long campaign.
The US is pressuring allies to commit more troops to the international presence under a new war strategy in battling the Taliban insurgency — which is reportedly at its strongest since the start of the conflict.
Some of the nations contributing to the NATO presence have postponed an official decision on such a military surge until after the conference, which will open this Thursday.
While British Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth said over the weekend that restoring a sense of peace in Afghanistan would be a lengthy process, the most senior US commander in Afghanistan recently predicted that troops face more violence, before the campaign could hope to stabilize the war zone.
The draft's closing statement, however, starkly contrasts US President Barack Obama's optimism that forces could start a phased withdrawal from mid-2011.
It outline plans that would see Afghan forces "taking the lead and conducting the majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years and taking responsibility for physical security within five years."
The draft also prescribes a bribe fund worth hundreds of millions of pounds, to aid the Afghan government in convincing Taliban fighters to laying down their arms for money or education and learning of skills.
