British Official Fears Worsening of Afghanistan Conflict

During a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London on Tuesday, British Defense Secretary Des Browne infirmed optimistic reports made by his predecessor, John Reid, regarding the current situation in Afghanistan, by commenting upon the highly disturbing level of violence in that country, where army contingents belonging to his country, as well as to NATO, are still engaged in fierce battles with Taliban insurgents.

He warned that the conflicts taking place in Afghanistan could lead to more serious, more profound ones, even though the much-acclaimed "Medusa" NATO operation had succeeded to a certain extent in reshaping the damaged credibility of the organization.

According to him, the Afghani population has grown consistently tired of the ongoing clashes, even though the core of the Taliban insurgency comprises only 1,000 people at most for now. However, he highlighted that the Taliban could regroup since their leaders are "adept at forming alliances of convenience with the drug barons and criminal gangs". "Together they recruit foot soldiers from among the poor, ordinary Afghan tribesmen", he explained, adding that it is this type of soldiers that currently fight the British and NATO troops. "If we cannot persuade them to put down their guns, then we will struggle to make progress, and there will be a real danger that their deaths will motivate others to join the fight, and potentially turn this into a conflict of a different kind", he asserted.

However, he did not specifically refer to the type of dangers that potentially await Afghanistan, yet political analysts have pointed out that Browne's remarks could mean that the war in the country may attract other al-Qaeda-inclined groups, which may in turn create an Iraq-type conflict, in terms of magnitude. As far as the cross-border allegiance of insurgents, Browne stated that Pakistan was "part of the problem" in Afghanistan, but it was also part of its solution.