Head of British military to leave job early as new government reassesses Afghan strategy
By APSunday, June 13, 2010
Head of British military to leave job early
LONDON — The British government is shuffling its top military team as it grapples with the unpopular conflict in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Liam Fox says the head of the armed forces, Air Chief Marshall Jock Stirrup, will leave his job about six months early. His term had not been due to end until April 2011. The top civilian defense official also will leave.
Stirrup was appointed by the Labour government, which lost power in May to a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday the men were not being punished for the rising death toll in Afghanistan. Hague told the BBC they were leaving at “a natural time to have a change of personnel.”
Britain has some 10,000 troops in Afghanistan; almost 300 have died there since the 2001 invasion.
