THE commander of the Royal Marines expected to join the ground war in Afghanistan has admitted his troops are not ready for action.
Brigadier Roger Lane told the BBC he was concerned about the lack of intelligence information in the region.
He said his commandos should not be rushed into action against the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorist group.
Brigadier Lane, head of 3 Commando Brigade, said: "We will be ready when suitable targets have been identified.
"We do not want to be too hasty. We need to be right."
A total of 200 troops from 40 Commando, based in Taunton, Somerset, have been committed by the UK to ground operations in Afghanistan.
Brigadier Lane said he wanted to make sure they were totally prepared before going into action.
He added: "We will make sure we have thought through all the possible outcomes so that every man feels confident about what he is going to do if things go well or, indeed, not according to plan."
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