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Gordon Brown’s announcement of the conditional dispatch of a further 500 British troops to Afghanistan represents a sop to the Atlantic alliance, rather than a change of heart in Downing Street. The prime minister and his advisers are deeply sceptical – as is President Barack Obama – about whether a reinforced combat effort will change much in an increasingly unpopular war.

But the American military has exerted huge pressure on the White House and US allies. “We face a crisis of confidence,” Stanley McChrystal, the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, told an audience in London recently. “This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely.”

Gen McChrystal argues that only by Read Full Article ››