World

Afghanistan 'tougher than Iraq'

by 158 | February 8, 2009 at 08:38 am

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US President Barack Obama's envoy to Afghanistan has said that winning the conflict there will be "much tougher" than in Iraq.

Richard Holbrooke told a conference in Munich: "I have never seen anything like the mess we have inherited."

This is important news. President Obama

has said he will win in Afghanistan. It will

take much more money, far more troops

and many more dead American soldiers to

attempt to do this. Afghanistan is perfect

for guerrilla warfare and any ''victory'' will

take many years.

"I want to stress that it's the cohesion of the international effort that has to be better put together in order to be successful."

America has long been pushing its Nato allies to increase their troop numbers in Afghanistan and UK Defence Secretary John Hutton raised the need for "burden-sharing", without naming any particular nation.

"Combat forces, that is a most precious contribution right now to that campaign," he said.

"We kid ourselves if we imagine that other contributions are as important."