Clegg Warning Over Britain's Afghan Mission

The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, visited British troops on the frontline in Afghanistan yesterday to underline his party's strong support for the mission and warn that its success is in the balance.

Clegg travelled to the British headquarters in Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gar, and nearby Camp Bastion, at the end of a two-day visit to the country. Although the Lib Dems opposed the Iraq war, he believes the success of the Afghan mission is crucial.

"We must be much more forthright in explaining why we are here and what the costs of failure are," he said. Clegg, making the first visit by a Lib Dem leader to the country, criticised the government for failing to explain the scale and necessity of the Afghan mission to the British public.

His visit came a day after a British Chinook helicopter carrying Helmand's new provincial governor crash-landed near the town of Musa Qala after being hit by a Taliban rocket.

He was briefed by senior military officials including Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the commander of the Helmand taskforce, who spoke about fears that support for the Helmand mission was at risk in Britain. "We need nerve and strategic patience. The Taliban won't outfight us but might outlast us," he said.

Clegg spoke to military and civilian officials involved in development work in the province, which has been held back by sustained Taliban attacks on British forces and local people.

They insisted that the situation in Helmand was improving after heavy fighting in the last two years. But control of the province is still uncertain, with the British presence expanding from a series of fortified forward bases.

Support for Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai due to face elections in 2009 is fading, while military and aid efforts are being hampered by a lack of cooperation between different military forces and development bodies.