Concern over UK Army in Afghanistan

12 April 2012

A debate over the role of Britain's armed forces in Afghanistan continues as the families of 15 UK service personnel killed in the country in three days mourn their losses.

Opposition frontbenchers questioned whether the Government was providing enough support for British troops after the Army's most senior officer warned his men were fighting at the limit of their capacity.

Chief of General Staff General Sir Richard Dannatt said the Army could only just cope with the demands being placed on it by the Government.

One British soldier died and a second was very seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack on a Nato military convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul. The Ministry of Defence said the dead soldier was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Meanwhile, an international think-tank is due to publish a study of the reconstruction of Afghanistan over the five years since the start of the US and British-led invasion. The Senlis Council will report on the reasons for the resurgence of the Taliban and for opium poppy cultivation increasing by 59% this year.

Concerns over the demands being placed on British troops were fuelled by an interview in which Gen Dannatt warned that the Army was being forced to "meet challenges on the hoof". Speaking to The Guardian, Gen Dannatt warned: "We are running hot, certainly running hot. Can we cope? I pause. I say 'Just'."

Foreign Office minister Kim Howells, visiting Afghanistan, also urged Britain's Nato allies to make a bigger contribution to the current operation to bring security to the Taliban-dominated south of the country.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "It's so important for us to make sure we stand firm in Afghanistan and stop that country being a training ground for the export of terrorism around the world."

"The fact is that this Prime Minister has engaged in five military operations since he became Prime Minister," Shadow defence minister Gerald Howarth said. "He shows no reluctance to commit British forces around the world but his Chancellor, Gordon Brown, will not commit the necessary funds to ensure that our men have the latest and best equipment."

A source close to Mr Brown responded: "It is simply disgraceful that Gerald Howarth is using the tragic losses suffered by our armed forces in recent days as an excuse to launch these partisan personal attacks."

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