[War] United Kingdom: "The Leadup"

[Michael Downey]

"The Leadup"
Prime Minister Owen Eckley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
9 October 2006
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"We have to strike, and we have to strike now."

General Surridge was very blunt to the assembled men, all but the PM
and his sister members of the MOD and British intelligence. He stood
at the front of the long conference table, his back to a map of
Afghanistan. Though usually fairly easygoing for such a senior
soldier, absolute determination gleamed in his eyes.

"Medusa delt the Taliban a heavy blow, but they are still active,"
continued Surridge in a matter-of-fact tone. "And with our dalliances
in Iraq, Afghanistan has become a forgotten war, to us, NATO, and the
world at large. If we push forward, with every amount of strength and
resolve that we have, we can end this. Break the Taliban's back."

"I was given wise consul that body counts alone do not win wars,
General," said Eckley from his seat at the far end of the table. "Even
if we were to completely destroy the Taliban, we would only be killing
the symptoms, not the disease."

"Which is why we and the Americans are become much more involved with
the training of the ANA and the search for a food crop engineered for
prosperous growth in Afghanistan," replied Defence Secretary Hammond.
"As well as hiring more PMCs to help protect our increased
reconstruction efforts. These moves on our part will help give the
Afghans a sense of prosperity and a belief their country actually has
a future."

"And for that future to prosper, the Taliban must be crushed," added
Surridge. Nodding of heads and murmured agreements came from all the
uniformed men around the table.

"But how can we do any of that?" came a lone soprano voice. All eyes
turned to the Prime Minister's left. Ruth Eckley, Minister of the
Cabinet Office, shot Surridge a doubtful look. "The rest of NATO, our
friends in Europe in particular, have still been too afraid to send
more troops. Even our latest pleas for even simple logistical support
have been ignored. The only nations that HAVE given us any measure of
help are Brazil and Japan. And they're not even members of NATO! And
how can we forget the drain that Iraq is?"

"Claims that Iraq is a hobble for any type of offensive in Iraq are
plainly idiotic," Surridge replied with a sour tone. "We have a single
unit, the 1st Mechanized Brigade, in the country. Eight thousand men.
If eight thousand men in another country leaves the British Army to
stretched to launch an offensive in Afghanistan, then we are surely
the weakest and most miserable military power in Europe. The 1st
Mechanized represents just 7% of our regular forces. That is simply
the media being alarmist and sensationalizing everything."

"And besides, we have already begun moving away from a direct combat
role in Iraq," added Hammond, his tone a bit more controlled that
Surridge's. "The majority of the 1st Mechanized mandate in Iraq has
been switched to training the Iraqi Army and building new local
regiments, not direct combat. And the SAS deployments accounts for
only two of the ten squadrons. The vast majority of the armed forces
are still available for our use in Afghanistan for an offensive."

"Alright, enough about manpower for the moment," said Eckley, trying
to avoid a spat. "We should first decide WHAT we are going to do and
the decide how we are going to do it. General Surridge?"

"We have codenamed this planned offensive as Operation Revival,"
continued Surridge, trying not to cast a dark look at the lone
naysayer. "It revolves around a heavy offensive into the provinces of
Halmand, Kandahar and Nimruz in the Southern region of the country
where the Taliban is strongest. We will invade, eliminate their forces
and command structure, and then let the ANA move in and begin
occupation. This is the first phase of the operation, and will break
the back of the Taliban. Once these three provinces are occupied, we
can then turn Eastward and begin a mopup of insurgents there.

"I want to make it clear to this council that our intent is to END
this war. To hurt the Taliban so badly that they are destroyed as a
military force. And as Secretary Hammond has pointed out, our
intensified efforts to train the ANA and build civil infrastructure in
Afghanistan will be able to bloom once the instability and strife
created by the Taliban is gone. If we can make prospects for a future,
the Afghans will not have reason to back murderers and thugs like the
Taliban."

"There still is the question of just how many soldiers we are going to
be comitting to this," said Eckley. He did not have to be a soldier to
know that more troops than what they had in Afghanistan now would be
needed.

"We will need to deploy more troops into Afghanistan," admitted
Surridge. "The 19th Light Brigade and the 12th Mechanized Brigade out
of the 3rd Infantry Division in Wiltshire. They will form the core of
British offensive forces. The 1200 troops being sent by Brazil and the
1000 troops being sent by the Polish will prove very useful, provided
they agree to take part in the offensive. And......" Surridge cast a
look to Hammond, who nodded. "China."

"China?" Eckley raised an eyebrow.

"The Chinese seem to think they should have been approached when we
canvased for more troops to fight in Afghanistan. Which is actually
one of the most positive reactions we've received, given that the EU
members are too cowardly to give any more men. With this new
revelation, we want to approach the PLA about just what they might
consider sending."

Which left Eckley in a difficult position. If they did ask China to
send troops to Afghanistan in enough numbers to take part in a major
anti-Taliban offensive, he knew very well what President Hong would
want in return. More talks over the arms embargo, and this time she
would want it relaxed immediately upon China agreeing to commit
troops. If they did agree, which was still up in the air.

"Alright, I'll send a diplomatic communication to President Hong and
see if the Chinese are willing to take part in 'Operation Revival.'
Until then General Surridge, start talking with the Brazilians and the
Poles. I'll also have FCO give the EU another talking to and see if we
can't get more men from then. I know it's really wasting our time at
this point, but if Brazil, Poland and maybe even Red China start to
outdo them, maybe they'll get shamed into it."
---

Actions:
1) Begin planning 'Operation Revival,' a major offensive against the Taliban.
2) Make preparations to deploy the 19th Light Brigade and the 12th
Mechanized Brigade to Afghanistan, pending that Operation Revival is a
go.
3) Sit down with Poland and Brazil and see if they are willing to take part.
4) Contact China. Determine if they might be willing to send combat
troops in exchange for the arms embargo being relaxed.
5) Try once again to get the EU to commit more military power. Come on
guys, Brazil and Poland are outdoing you. What happened to the next
Superpower?