Britain's overstretched Armed Forces are to send as many as 1,000 troops to the Balkans in a move that will see the military's last remaining reserve unit deployed on operations. The imminent departure of the 1st Bn Welsh Guards to Kosovo has been ordered in response to fears that the newly formed independent state could slide into "ethnic cleansing". But last night MPs and former military chiefs described the move as "irresponsible" and "demented", accusing the Ministry of Defence of being "bankrupt".| At the same time, the perception with regard to Kosovo is correct: it could easily blow up. Now it would be helpful if the French, Italians, Spanish, Poles and Romanians each put a thousand troops into Kosovo, and let the Brits take care of Afghanistan (for example). But that doesn't seem to be happening. |
The Army is currently 3,800 men under strength, virtually every infantry battalion is undermanned and one in 14 serving soldiers is not fit for active service. In the next few weeks thousands of Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade will fly out to Helmand in southern Afghanistan for the start of a widely anticipated Taliban "spring offensive". Sources have also indicated that despite the troop shortages, the British Task Force in Helmand might need to be reinforced before the summer in order to hold on to the strategic town of Musa Qala, which was taken from the Taliban in December.