Should Britain stay in Afghanistan?
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| 31-08-2009| Politics & LawA!er eight years fighting in Afghanistan, and with US General Stanley McCrystal about to te” President Obama that the current strategy isn’t working, what is the UK doing in the graveyard of empires?
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Some analysts think Gordon Brown is preparing the political ground for a withdrawal announcement, and he has travelled to Afghanistan in order to visit the troops and to pose for photos for the British press.
Speaking in Camp Bastion – British forces’ deployment base close to the front line in Helmand province in the south of the country – Gordon Brown also announced further support for Afghan troop training programmes to strengthen the Afghan army and police force.
The plan is to have Afghan forces reduce their reliance on UK forces in the coming months, thus opening up the possibility of withdrawing British troops in time for next year’s general election or of leaving behind smaller training teams to mentor local forces.
Mr. Brown fears troop withdrawals could be a sensitive and demoralising subject with soldiers and British public opinion right now, with so little coherence in his government’s thinking and actions over a bloody conflict which has now claimed the lives of 208 British soldiers.
Mr. Brown – who was Chancellor of the Exchequer and then became prime minister in 2007 – has been accused of penny-pinching when it comes to providing the right equipment for the soldiers doing the fighting.
In a campaign blighted by problems which shouldn’t exist, it was announced that there is a live ammunition shortage because the government supposedly doesn’t have any money, so professional soldiers must train with blank ammunition.
Analysts believe Mr. Brown might be laying the groundwork for the pre-election announcement of a timetable for withdrawal and a British exit strategy for its Helmand campaign.
Photo by FCO on Flickr.
El vocabulario de esta semana
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Nouns:
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- troops – tropas
- announcement – declaración, anuncio
- ammunition – munición
- timetable – horario, plan
- withdrawal – retirada
Noun phrases:
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- Camp Bastion – Base Bastión
- pre-election announcement – anunicio pre-electoral
- troop withdrawals – retirada de tropas
- training programme – programa de formación
- live ammunition shortage – falta de munición convencional
- penny pinching – roñoso, tacaño
- exit strategy – estrategia de salida
Verbs:
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- to withdraw – retirar
- to step up – aumentar, incrementar
- to blight – arruinar
- to bring – traer
- to travel – viajar
Verb Phrases:
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- to prepare the ground – preparar el terreno
- to reduce reliance on – reducir la dependencia sobre
- to mentor local forces – aconsejar a las fuerzas locales
- to grant an amnesty – conceder una amnistía
- to lay the g
