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CNN Saturday Morning News

Britain Commits More Forces to War in Afghanistan

Aired October 27, 2001 - 08:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Britain is committing more of its forces to the war in Afghanistan.

CNN's Richard Quest looks at some of the elite ground troops preparing to head to that region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are among Britain's best, Royal Marine commandos who are currently involved in Operation Safe Sort in Oman. But instead of returning to the U.K. when this operation ends, they'll be transferred to British warships, which are also being sent to the region. The 200 commandos involved are described as extreme weather troops used to operating in some of the world's toughest terrain.

ADM. SIR MICHAEL BOYCE, BRITISH CHIEF OF DEFENSE STAFF: The 40 commando and, in fact, the command is overall, are United Kingdom's troops, which are specially trained in Arctic and mountain warfare. And so for the coming months, they certainly have got the sort of special skills which will allow them should they actually go into Afghanistan to be well equipped in terms of their training for the sort of operation they might be required to undertake.

QUEST: Four hundred more commandos will return to Britain, but they'll remain on a state of high readiness. The actions involved for these troops will inevitably include direct incursions into Afghanistan. The commandos will be used to support and protect other special forces, such as the SAS. Some of these missions could last for days.

ADAM INGRAM, BRITISH ARMED FORCES MINISTER: We have said we are in this for the long haul and we mean it. The force has therefore been designed to ensure that we are well placed to deal with a wide range of contingencies and to contain operational flexibility for as long as necessary.

QUEST (on camera): Until now, Britain had less than 1,000 personnel dedicated to the coalition, mostly involved on submarines and on air reconnaissance and midair refueling for U.S. aircraft. This announcement greatly increases the British contribution to nearly 4,000 and those troops could be involved for some time to come.

Richard Quest, CNN, at the Ministry of Defense in London. (END VIDEOTAPE)

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