Britain has offered to host an international conference early next year to set a timetable for transferring security responsibilities to Afghan forces from 2010, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday.
The bloodiest year for British troops in Afghanistan has fuelled public opposition to the campaign, creating another headache for Mr Brown as he tries to close a big gap on the Conservatives ahead of an election due by June.
Mr Brown, trying to show voters he had an exit strategy, argues that expanding training of Afghan security forces may allow Britain to reduce its troop numbers over time.
He also presented the mission as part of the fight against al-Qaeda.
Mr Brown said he had offered London as a venue for an international meeting on Afghanistan in the new year.
"I want that conference to chart a comprehensive political framework within which the military strategy can be accomplished," he said in a speech last night. "It should identify a process for transferring district by district to full Afghan control and if at all possible we should set a timetable for transfer starting next year, in 2010."
Britain has 9,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, the second largest foreign military contingent in the country after the United States.
Reuters