Thousands of British soldiers were put on a 48-hour standby Wednesday for possible deployment in Afghanistan as the vanguard of an international peacekeeping force.
They could be deployed in the capital Kabul and the strategic northern city of Mazar-I-Sharif to pave the way for a wider UN force and may also help with essential humanitarian relief work, a spokesman said.
Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said that British forces "are ready to help in Afghanistan should they be needed.
"The idea is literally to prepare the ground for a peacekeeping force, and to make sure that such a force can operate successfully in Afghanistan," Hoon told BBC radio from Uzbekistan, where he is on a visit.
"Discussions are continuing with allies to identify other countries willing to help."
But they would not get involved in chasing down Taliban soldiers now on the run after opposition forces seized Kabul and a large swathe of the north.
"There is no intention to deploy the forces in offensive operations against the Taliban," a ministry of defence spokesman said.
"This is just a sensible, precautionary measure on our part," he told AFP, while stressing that no decision on deployment had been taken.
"Their precise role has yet to be defined. They may well assist in getting the United Nations in on the ground, providing a sort of structure that would help them come in, stabilizing the situation."
The notice of 48-hour standby was given "in light of the fluid and rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan," he added.
The soldiers are elements of 3 Commando Brigade and 16 Air Assault Brigade, including paratroopers and Royal Marines.
They would be backed up by a range of supporting assets including Royal Air Force air transport, support helicopters, engineers, logistics teams and bomb disposal experts.
"They are not an aggressive force. They will act as a stabilising force to assist the UN in allowing the transition to a new government," the ministry of defence said earlier.
"They will give the locals confidence, create the right conditions to allow the humanitarian agencies to do their work."
Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking late Tuesday, urged the United Nations to enter Kabul to help fill the power vacuum left by the fleeing Taliban.
He urged it to establish a presence in the city "as soon as possible" after the speed of the Taliban regime's collapse appeared to take the Western allies by surprise.
Wednesday's announcement does not include more than 200 Royal Marines based in the Gulf, which London promised two weeks ago for a larger ground operation in Afghanistan, backed up by assorted ships and aircraft carriers.
It also placed 400 Marines on maximum alert in Britain.
Menzies Campbell, the foreign affairs spokesman for the British opposition Liberal Democrat party, called for a UN Security Council resolution to back up any deployment of British troops.
He said there had to be more information about "how many, how long and who else?," warning that "this is a deployment which could carry some considerable risk." -- AFP
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