Deaths cloud Afghan support in Britain

Published: Nov. 5, 2009 at 1:04 PM

LONDON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The deaths of five British troops prompted political, diplomatic and military officials to warn public support would fade without a clear Afghan strategy.

The soldiers were killed Wednesday when a police officer trained by British forces opened fire at Shin Kalay base in southern Afghanistan. Training of Afghan security forces is key to the eventual departure of British and U.S. forces.

The shootings bared fissures in the military alliance and domestic political unity, The Times of London reported Thursday. Paddy Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, the former Liberal Democrat leader, and Charles Powell of Bayswater, ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's foreign policy adviser, warned of the dangers of fading public support.

"There is now a real chance that we will lose this struggle in the bars and front rooms of Britain, before we lose it in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan," Ashton wrote in a commentary published in The Times.

Powell said the public wouldn't accept a strategy that did not include an end point within three years.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown signaled London and Washington resurrected the possibility of a naming a senior civilian alliance person to help Afghan President Karzai root out corruption.

Ashton, once considered for the role, has said the West should deal directly with tribal leaders, The Times said.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints


Additional News Stories
COL BKB: Kentucky 92, Rider 63 (13 min)
COL FB: Florida 62, Fla. International 3 (48 min)
COL FB: Iowa 12, Minnesota 0
COL FB: Ohio State 21, Michigan 10
Second false alarm delays spacewalk
Sisters seeking damages for dropped coffin
Meat on the menu for Connecticut thieves
fark
Pittsburgh plans to tax college students, wants them to pay fair share
Genetics anti-bias law takes effect today, forcing insurance companies, employers to use outward...
It's a boy: Zoo tortoise reveals mistaken identity after 50 years, so the zoo renamed the tortoise...
Like some Farkers' dream girls, this suspect had nice melons and 800 pounds of pot. Unfortunately,...
When schools remove chocolate milk from the cafeteria they are simultanously bombarded with student...
Funny, subby's cold-as-a-fish ex-wife is also named Wendy. I hope this doesn't get greenlit