UK public: Afghan war is unwinnable

LONDON - A majority of the British public believes that the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable and British troops should be pulled out immediately, a poll has found.

The growing opposition to the military offensive emerged as another two UK soldiers were killed, bringing the number of deaths so far this month to 22.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared yesterday that Operation Panther's Claw - the five-week onslaught on Taleban positions in Helmand province - had been a success.

But the ComRes survey suggests that the public mood is switching rapidly against the war - and that people do not believe it is worth sending reinforcements to Afghanistan.

More than half of voters (52 per cent) want troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan straight away, with 43 per cent disagreeing. Opposition to the military action is even stronger among women.

By a margin of nearly two-to-one, the public believes that the Taleban cannot be defeated militarily. Fifty-eight per cent view the war as "unwinnable", with 31 per cent disagreeing.

There is overwhelming agreement - by 75 per cent to 16 per cent - that British troops in Afghanistan lack the equipment they require to perform their role safely.

Despite that, 60 per cent of people do not think more troops and resources should be dispatched to the war zone. Just over one-third (35 per cent) are in favour of reinforcements being sent in.

The collapse in confidence in Britain's involvement in Afghanistan comes after the numbers killed in the action exceeded those who died in Iraq.

Brown yesterday announced the first phase of Panther's Claw had been a success, clearing out Taleban insurgents from a wide area of Helmand ahead of next month's Afghanistan elections.

He acknowledged the "tragic human cost" among UK troops who were killed or injured, but insisted it had not been in vain. "What we have actually done is make land secure for about 100,000 people," the Prime Minister claimed.

"What we've done is push back the Taleban - and what we've done also is to start to break that chain of terror that links the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the streets of Britain."

The two latest deaths brought the total number of UK fatalities in Afghanistan to 191 since the invasion of 2001.

The American commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is due to present his strategic plan for the campaign this week, emphasising that territory taken from the Taleban must be held.

In the past, Western troops have had to abandon positions due to lack of numbers, allowing the insurgents to return.

For British troops the immediate effect of this is that they must now be present on the ground in large numbers in the areas they have captured.

However, senior officers point out it also means that UK forces will not be able to mount such an operation on their own in the future without reinforcements, because troops will be tied up guarding the newly secured areas.

Brigadier Tim Radford, who commanded the British troops in Panther's Claw, said: "I am absolutely certain the operation has been a success. We've had a significant impact on the Taleban in this area - both in terms of their capability and their morale. It has been a very, very hard fight.

"When I have been on the ground, you look into the eyes of some of the soldiers and they have certainly grown up during this period."

He refused to confirm how many insurgents were killed in the operation. But he said: "There will be many Taleban who will not be fighting any more."

Ministers are now backing moves by the Afghan Government to draw moderate Taleban fighters into the political process by dividing them from hardcore militants.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, speaking at Nato's headquarters in Brussels, said: "The Afghan Government needs effective grassroots initiatives to offer an alternative to fight or flight for the foot soldiers of the insurgency.

Essentially this means a clear route for former insurgents to return to their villages and go back to farming the land or a role for some of them within the legitimate Afghan security forces."

William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, called for a "comprehensive strategy" for stabilising Afghanistan.

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