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Helmand troops 'lacking capacity' Helmand 'not a losing campaign'
(about 3 hours later)
Thousands of US troops have been sent to Helmand province because British forces "lacked capacity", the UK's top commander in Afghanistan has said. The UK's top commander in Afghanistan has denied that the battle against the Taliban is "a losing campaign".
General Jim Dutton told the BBC there had been huge areas of southern Afghanistan with no military presence. General Jim Dutton told the BBC there had been "a stalemate" in the south of the country, but US forces were now being brought in to boost "capacity".
But Gen Dutton said that was set to change, with thousands of American forces being sent to the south. "I am convinced that the addition of those troops is going to improve the security situation," he said.
US President Barack Obama has announced an additional 21,000 American troops will be sent to Afghanistan.US President Barack Obama has announced an additional 21,000 American troops will be sent to Afghanistan.
Gen Dutton, deputy commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said US troops fighting alongside the British would have to end the "stalemate" in the south of the country. The southern province of Helmand has seen an increase in insurgency and has the highest rate of attacks on Nato-led forces anywhere in Afghanistan.
Extra troops 'Overstretched'
Helmand has seen an increase in insurgency and has the highest rate of attacks on Nato-led forces anywhere in Afghanistan. Gen Dutton said it would take until the autumn or winter of this year to see the full impact of troop reinforcements.
The BBC's Martin Patience in the Afghan capital Kabul says Gen Dutton's comments may add to criticism that British forces have been overstretched and under-resourced. But he said: "I would deny that it's a losing campaign."
He said there had been "a stalemate in the south" which meant that "neither side could progress much".
"In order to break that stalemate, to increase the capacity, the decision was made to bring many more forces into the south," he added.
I'm not saying we're now in a position where we wholly control the border - far from it Gen Jim Dutton
The BBC's Martin Patience, in the Afghan capital Kabul, says Gen Dutton's comments may add to criticism that British forces have been overstretched and under-resourced.
This is denied by the Ministry of Defence but military officials admit that progress has been limited.This is denied by the Ministry of Defence but military officials admit that progress has been limited.
In March, Mr Obama said an extra 4,000 US troops would help train up the Afghan army and police. Gen Dutton, deputy commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan, said "one of the other reasons for optimism" was the widespread realisation that Pakistan was just as important to the war effort as Afghanistan.
He said the border was now "much better controlled" and would become increasingly so in future.
"Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying we're now in a position where we wholly control the border and the border has become irrelevant - far from it.
"But we are in a much better position in that respect than we have been in the past."
Gen Dutton also said commanders were going to be "even more restrictive" on soldiers' freedoms to try to prevent civilian casualties.
"Things are still going to go wrong, but the fundamental mindset change that has been taking place for some time isÂ… if you are in a situation where there is any chance of creating civilian casualties, or you don't know whether you will create civilian casualties, if you can withdraw from that situation without firing then you must do so."
British troops have been on operations in Afghanistan since 2001
Elections
In March, President Obama said an extra 4,000 US troops would help train up the Afghan army and police.
This was in addition to the 17,000 troops whose redeployment to Afghanistan, mostly in the south of the country, was unveiled earlier in the year.This was in addition to the 17,000 troops whose redeployment to Afghanistan, mostly in the south of the country, was unveiled earlier in the year.
The UK has about 8,000 troops serving in Afghanistan, most of them in Helmand.The UK has about 8,000 troops serving in Afghanistan, most of them in Helmand.
In April, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered to send more UK troops to provide security ahead of the country's presidential elections in August.In April, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered to send more UK troops to provide security ahead of the country's presidential elections in August.
This would be a temporary deployment involving hundreds rather than thousands of troops, and conditional on other Nato members making a similar move.This would be a temporary deployment involving hundreds rather than thousands of troops, and conditional on other Nato members making a similar move.