Afghans want British troops in the background
Afghanistan's defence minister says there are sharp differences with the UN and even within the new government over the role of the peace-keeping force.
Mohammed Fahim says 3,000 international troops will be deployed in Afghanistan over the next six months, but that only 1,000 soldiers will have a peace-keeping role and their presence will be largely symbolic.
The other 2,000 men will assist with humanitarian aid and as a reserve force, out of sight at the Baghram air base north of the capital.
"They are here because they want to be. But their presence is as a symbol," Fahim said. "The security is the responsibility of Afghans."
The United Nations, however, has described a more significant role for its peacekeepers.
Another senior Afghan was more blunt saying British troops are not wanted and he would prefer Germany to lead the UN security force in Afghanistan.
"The arms that our grandfathers used to fight the Brits are still oiled," said Hashmattulah Moslih, an aide to outgoing President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
He told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that Afghans still harbour reservations about Britain, which fought three wars with the Afghans from 1842 to 1921 in an attempt to make country part of its empire to protect colonial India from the Russians.
The British, he said, should restrict their participation in the force to logistics - and denied that the outgoing Afghan leadership has accepted having British troops at the helm of an international force.
"The Germans took a leading role in the search for a political solution, and they should do the same for a security force," Hashmattulah Moslih said. "The Germans are historically beloved in Afghanistan."
