UK general admits NATO has lost initiative against Taliban - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Britain's senior most commander in Afghanistan has claimed that the NATOo mission has 'lost the initiative' against the Taliban, and can be on the back foot within six months. Lt Gen Sir Nick Parker admitted in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that the alliance's successes had "not been as good as the success of the insurgents". NATO has not had "sufficient resources", its command structures have been inadequate and it lacked "the right cultural approach," he added. "We do realise that we have lost the initiative," he said, speaking at the ISAF (International Stabilisation and Assistance Force) headquarters in Kabul. With the insurgents still able to mount numerous attack across southern Afghanistan the general admitted that they had become "too effective" but added that the insurgency was "about to be undermined". Asked when the initiative would be regained he said: "Come and speak to me in June or July." With at least half of the 30,000 American surge along with 500 extra British troops deploying in the coming weeks a new offensive will shortly be launched against the Taliban. Inevitably this would lead to further bloodshed, admitted the general, who is deputy to the American commander Gen Stanley McChrystal. "Our operations over the next six months are going to involve some serious fighting and that will mean casualties. But you have to see this in the broader context and it is worth it," he said. "We have to do this for the security of the world and the UK," he added. His words were echoed by British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth who said he could not guarantee Service families that their loved ones would be safe when they "take the battle to the enemy".