Gordon Brown will embrace the central thrust of General Stanley McChrystal’s report into the future of Afghanistan when he speaks today of the need to develop a military and political "push".
Days before Barack Obama spells out US strategy in Afghanistan, the prime minister will outline what is being dubbed in London a "McChrystalesque" approach.
In his landmark report, McChrystal, commander of US and Nato forces, recommended a more sophisticated counter-insurgency strategy designed to reassure the Afghan people that Nato troops do not see themselves as occupying forces and that their primary task is to protect local people, and a surge of up to 40,000 US troops. Obama will respond to the report on Tuesday.
Speaking before the biennial Commonwealth heads of government meeting, which opens today in Trinidad and Tobago, Brown will talk of "the need to complement our military strategy with our political strategy … and the need therefore for a comprehensive approach to both Afghanistan and Pakistan as we move forward with a strategy to deal with the risk of al-Qaida and also to deal with the threat of the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan".
Brown said on Wednesday that he had received assurances from Nato countries outside the US that they were prepared to commit an extra 5,000 troops.
Britain does not expect Obama to sign up to every aspect of the McChrystal report and the president may decide on different troop levels, possibly around 30,000. The White House has made clear that the next stage of its strategy is designed to lead to an eventual withdrawal.
The opening Commonwealth session today will be dominated by climate change. While no formal agreements will be made before the Copenhagen summit in 10 days’ time, Brown sees the meeting as a chance for developed and developing nations of the Commonwealth – seen as a microcosm of the countries that will meet in Copenhagen –to outline their thoughts.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN general secretary, will attend the summit, as will Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, who will chair the Copenhagen talks.
Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first French president to attend a Commonwealth summit. the summit will hold out the prospect of readmitting Zimbabwe to the Commonwealth in time for the next meeting in 2011. Brown will say he has been encouraged by the formation of the inclusive government in which the former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai serves as prime minister. But he will make clear that more progress needs to be made in political and judicial reforms.
Brown will say: "I believe that the best way forward is to hold out a conditional offer, that it is possible for Zimbabwe to rejoin the Commonwealth if Zimbabwe takes the necessary steps and delivers on the requirements of the global political agreement, requirements which the Zimbabwe government have signed up to with the support of the whole region, including South Africa."
The prime minister will also make clear he is still interested in pressing for a so called "Tobin tax" on financial transactions despite international opposition. But he will say this is one of a number of options to avoid a repeat of the international banking crisis. These include an insurance scheme and asking banks to hold contingent capital.
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