- By ALISTAIR MACDONALD
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said British troops will begin withdrawing from Afghanistan this year, the first time the British leader has spoken of withdrawal without applying caveats.
Stefan Rousseau/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
British Prime Minister David Cameron made a speech to doctors and nurses on the National Health Service reforms during a visit to Ealing Hospital in west London, Monday.
Mr. Cameron said the country will withdraw around 400 troops this year from roles such as one in which its Royal Air Force Regiment helps guard Kandahar Airport.
While Mr. Cameron has talked before about British withdrawal, he typically hedges it by saying that pulling out troops will only occur if conditions on the ground are conducive. Tuesday also appeared to be the first time Mr. Cameron has used specific numbers.
"Obviously this year there will be some troops coming home," the prime minister told a committee of British lawmakers.
With around 10,000 troops, the U.K. has the second-highest number of foreign troops in Afghanistan after the U.S. In addition to the roughly 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, there are more than 40,000 international troops in the country fighting a war against insurgents.
U.S. military officers in Afghanistan have drawn up preliminary proposals to withdraw as many as 5,000 troops from the country in July and as many as 5,000 more by the year's end, the first phase of a U.S. pullout promised by President Barack Obama, officials say.
U.K. withdrawal dates have been important for the U.S. because the U.K.'s commitment was seen as helping keep other European nations in the game.
One U.S. official said one reason that the U.S. pushed for 2014 as the date for Afghan forces to take over security of the nation was that the British had committed a large force only through 2015.
Once the British begin to draw down, it could be more difficult to maintain a robust coalition of international forces, he said.
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