Nicolas Sarkozy to bolster force in Afghanistan with 1,000 extra troops

President Sarkozy of France will tell Gordon Brown next week that France plans to send an extra 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan to bolster the battle against the Taleban. Senior ministers have told The Times that Mr Sarkozy wants to underline his commitment to the alliance during his state visit to Britain.
The Ministry of Defence has made a working assumption that President Sarkozy will announce a deployment of “slightly more than 1,000 troops to the eastern region”, one said.
The deployment would deliver a significant fillip to the military operation in Afghanistan, ensuring that other countries such as Canada remain engaged. It would also provide concrete evidence that France was keen to forge a new relationship with Nato.
Mr Sarkozy, who begins a two-day state visit to London on Wednesday, is expected to brief Mr Brown fully on his plans during his trip. The formal announcement of the deployment may not be made until the Nato summit in Bucharest, the Romanian capital, at the start of next month.
=615,height=655');
}