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More UK troops needed in Afghanistan to 'uphold reputation with US'

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, June 1, IRNA - British military leaders were reported Monday to have warned Prime Minister Gordon Brown that more troops are needed in Afghanistan to uphold the UK's reputation with the US.

"Credibility with the US is earned by being an ally that can be relied on to state clearly what it will do and then does it effectively. And credibility is also linked to the vital currency of reputation,” head of the UK Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt (pictured), was quoted saying in a speech to the international relations think-tank Chatham House last week.

British performance in Iraq has already been called into question at several levels in the eyes of our most important ally, the United States, Dannatt said, according to the Independent newspaper. "Taking steps to restore this credibility will be pivotal, and Afghanistan provides an opportunity," he warned.

Last month, Brown reportedly went against military advice when announcing only a temporary increase of 700 soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan during this year’s elections to add to the existing 8,300 troops already deployed there instead of raising the number by some 2,000 or more to add to the US surge.

The Independent said that senior generals were “bemused” that the prime minister turned down the advice of his own Defence Secretary, John Hutton, that a larger force should be sent to Afghanistan following the withdrawal from Iraq.

The warning now, it said, was that that the credibility of the country’s armed forces will suffer in the eyes of senior American commanders unless Brown authorises an autumn surge in troop numbers to signal Britain's intent to "pull its weight" in the Afghan conflict and plug the shortfall in the multinational force.

A further two British troops were killed in Afghanistan over the weekend, bringing the total to 12 in May, the highest monthly number since June last year and the second highest since the UK began military operations there in 2001. The total killed during the 8 years is now only 13 less than the 179 killed in Iraq.