Defeat is real possibility, British diplomat warns over Afghanistan

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LONDON, Feb 13(AFP): Paddy Ashdown, the senior British diplomat whose candidacy as UN envoy to Afghanistan was vetoed by the country's president, acknowledged that "defeat is now a real possibility" in the war-torn country where NATO troops are battling against an insurgency being waged by the Islamist Taliban militia
In an artticle in the Financial Times, Ashdown outlined today the plan he had devised for Afghanistan had he gotten the job.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan includes about 43,000 troops, but commanders have been calling for another 7,500.
"What we lack above all is a strategy that all (including, crucially, the Afghan government and the international military) can buy into," the former international envoy to Bosnia-Hercegovina wrote.
He wrote that while increasing resources, in the form of more troops and aid, committed to the country was necessary, it was not the only thing that needed to be done, and listed three priorities: security, governance, and the rule of law.