U.S. said unhappy with Brit Afghan efforts

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. military officials are privately grumbling about what they consider Britain's poor performance in Afghanistan's Helmand province, sources say.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is reluctant to commit 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan after getting a bleak progress report while U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is voicing strong reservations about the effectiveness of Britain's counterinsurgency efforts in Helmand, unnamed sources told Tuesday's Times of London.

Gates has announced plans for a surge of 20,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan, which could involve taking over from Britain in the restive southwestern province. The Times said U.S. military officials are upset over what they see as Britain's lack of equipment, including helicopters, leaving their troops unable to perform the same tasks as U.S. counterparts and leading to more cautious tactics.

Sources told the newspaper U.S. officials are grumbling about the regularity with which American airstrikes are called in to rescue British troops, as well as an alleged "air of superiority" adopted by British commanders.