Former top soldier blasts Afghan policy

LONDON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The former head of the British Defense Staff blasted the government's Afghanistan policy Friday in a debate in the House of Lords.

Gen. Ronald Guthrie, now Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, spent 42 years in the Army, ending his career as its top officer from 1997 to 2001. He blasted Prime Minister Gordon Brown for underfunding the Afghan effort and cutting the Territorial Army, Sky News reported.

"It's unsatisfactory for the Ministry of Defence and ministers ... always saying that things are better," he told the Lords.

Earlier, Brown warned Afghan leaders he won't leave British troops in Afghanistan if government corruption persists.

Though saying the Afghan war was a "necessity, not choice," Brown seemed to open the door for a possible exit strategy, The Times of London reported.

"I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption," Brown said.

Unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has won a second term in office, embraces reform and cleans up his government, he will have "forfeited" his right to international military intervention, Brown said.

A poll Thursday indicated opposition to the war has swelled in the last several weeks, The Times said. Only 33 percent of Britons polled for the Channel 4 News survey said they thought the war can be won, while 57 percent said they did not.