Fading support for Afghanistan invasion worries Gen. Stirrup

[cem]

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http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=112852&sectionid=351020601


Fading support for war worries top UK general

Press TV, 4 December 2009


British Chief of the Defense Staff General Sir Jock Stirrup has raised the alarm over the waning public support for the UK's involvement in the Afghan war.

Stirrup said Thursday that “the declining will at home” is more damaging to troop morale than the Taliban militants.

“Our people in theatre know this. The greatest threat to their morale is not the Taliban or IEDs, but declining will at home. Support for our service men and women is indivisible from support for this mission,” he said.

Despite the presence of nearly 110,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, the US-led coalition has not been able to establish security in the country.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to dispatch at least 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. On Friday, NATO announced that it would surge its presence in the country by up to 7,000 soldiers.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that 500 troops will be sent to the war. His decision has not been well received in the UK, where a majority of Britons question the mission's purpose and resources.

At least 236 British soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan since 2001.

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[Pugwash]

It really doesn't matter how many flags the country waves, it doesn't matter how many heads are bowed to the corpses at Brize Norton nor hollow words uttered in Houses of Parliament. The troops aren't stupid, they know they are stuck in an unwinnable war of occupation shafted by party politicians with no consideration greater than pandering to American neo-colonialists.