Gordon Brown wants 5,000 extra foreign troops in Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday he was confident of persuading Afghanistan war allies to contribute to an extra 5,000 troops on top of a likely US surge. Brown, under fire at home as the British death toll mounts, told BBC radio he was sending envoys to fellow European countries in a bid to convince them to share the burden. The premier said he was confident that US President Barack Obama would largely accept the call from General Stanley McChrystal, who commands international forces in Afghanistan, for tens of thousands more US troops.