Afghan War: UK General warns government loosing domestic support

LONDON - The new head of Britain’s Armed Forces, General Sir David Richards, has expressed fears that the government is losing public support for the war in Afghanistan.

General Richards, who will take over in a fortnight as Chief of the Defence Staff, would reportedly call a special conference of communication experts on Wednesday over concerns that the British people no longer understand why our troops are still in Afghanistan.

According to the Daily Mail, General Richards is expected to tell the London conference: ‘We must warn ourselves that we are in danger of losing public support for the war.’

The military has blamed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for lack of progress to win the hearts and minds of Afghans, while the FCO has countered by attacking the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the deaths of many Afghan civilians.

According to senior defence sources, there is serious concern within the military hierarchy that the international community is losing the information war, while the Taliban’s propaganda machine remains a step ahead, the paper reports.

At the conference, General Richards would reportedly talk about the danger of losing public support in the UK for the operations, despite the fact the military have never been so highly respected by the public since the Second World War. (ANI)