British troops will not become involved in any military action in Afghanistan "for some time" the Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, said yesterday.
As military commanders warned the situation in Afghanistan was unpredictable and challenging and a shortage of military intelligence meant a ground operation was not imminent, Mr Hoon said it would be a "mistake" to send troops to the region immediately without adequate training. However, he emphasised that the troops were at a state of high alert and could be deployed at short notice.
The British Government has committed a "lead element" of 200 Royal Marines commandos to the US-led military operation and in a speech at the Welsh Assembly today, the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, will emphasise "that everyone is absolutely of the belief that this is the right course of action." Some 4,200 British troops will support the campaign, but at a defence briefing yesterday Mr Hoon said the troops would "need some time to prepare for further operations" once their current military exercise in Oman ended this week. The Marines are not expected to join HMS Fearless until November 7th.
As Brig Roger Lane, the Royal Marines' commander, admitted he was "concerned" about a lack of military intelligence about Afghanistan and the impact that would have on any land operation and naval commanders predicted a British campaign may not begin until next year, a former armed forces minister, Mr Doug Henderson, said he doubted British deployment would take place. Mr Henderson said he believed the deployment of the Marines "was partly a political act" to show Britain's determination to commit to military action, but military intelligence "is so flimsy that there really isn't anything specific for them to do yet."
Mr Hoon also issued a stark warning to British Muslims contemplating joining the Taliban that they faced possible death in Afghanistan or arrest if they returned to Britain.
Mr Hoon said he hoped anyone planning to join the Taliban "does think very carefully about the consequences to both them and their families . . . as well as the legal action that might follow on their return."
He made his comments after an extremist Islamic group in Britain, the al-Muhajiroun, claimed three British Muslims had been killed during US air strikes on Kabul.
The al-Muhajiroun named the three men as Mr Aftab Manzoor (25) and Mr Afzal Munir, from Luton, Bedfordshire and Mr Yasir Khan, from Crawley, west Sussex. The men had gone to Afghanistan against the wishes of their families and al-Muhajiroun said the men were "martyred by the American bombing" against Afghanistan.
The Defence Secretary also said the possibility of halting the bombing campaign at some point during the Muslim holy period of Ramadan was being considered "very seriously," but he indicated it was an unlikely scenario. "We cannot afford to allow Osama bin Laden, or al Qaeda, or the Taliban regime to re-group knowing that they will not face military action in the course of Ramadan."