Brown’s spokesman Simon Lewis said Wednesday the British leader was optimistic over the pledges of additional personnel following talks with about 10 NATO nations in recent weeks.
Lewis said Brown has written to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to update him.
Britain has not named the countries it claims will provide the extra troops, though Slovakia last week offered 250 more soldiers following London talks.
Update from the Wall Street Journal: In a letter to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Mr. Brown said that last week he asked British ministers and officials to “pursue” ten key coalition partners for increased troop commitments in Afghanistan.
“Following these meetings and contacts, I am now optimistic that a majority of these countries will indeed make available increased numbers… of troops, and more police trainers and civilian support,” he said.
Turkey is among the countries set to increase its troop numbers, according to one person familiar with the matter…
Mr. Brown also repeated his invitation to allies in Afghanistan to attend a conference in London next January to “assess progress” in the country. (photo: AFP)