Brown makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid a surprise overnight visit to British troops at the Kandahar air base in Afghanistan, officials said.

"I wanted to be here with the troops to thank them for what they are doing," Brown said. "I wanted to see what it was like working with them."

Brown spent Saturday night at the base and was to meet Sunday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to emphasize Britain's commitment to defeat the Taliban, The Times of London online reported Sunday.

Brown told reporters the Afghan government must do more to fight the Taliban as the United States and its allies prepare to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan to defeat the insurgents.

Brown has been a vocal critic of Karzai's government and in an interview last week, Karzai called Brown's criticism "unfortunate and very artificial."

"It is extremely insulting," Karzai said.