Why don't we give the farmers a better price for their opium,refine it, and monopolise the pharmaceutical morphine market?

Bill, Belfast, N.I.

Brian from Syracuse should learn his history too- never heard of Napolean- though I am aware of Napoleon. With regard to history, perhaps the tactics bimilar to those employed by the British in Malaya and Oman may be worth adapting to the current conflicts.

Laurance, Bournemouth,

To David from Sussex, UK

"I used to travel a lot to and from the US for work. I was always amazed at how little informed they were about foreign countries and cultures. "

How moronic of a view is this?! Do you know anything about America? The US is MADE UP of foreigners from all over the world. I myself am an Ethiopian-American. My neighbors are Korean-American and a few houses down there is an Iranian-American family, just to name a few. How can Americans be ignorant of foreign coutries and cultures, when most of us are from foreign countries. This nation has more immigrants than most European countries have residents (more than 40 million, with an additional 2 million every year). My friend, it is you who are ignorant of foreign nations, not us. Maybe that's why your nation is having a hard time assimilating your Asian community into mainstream society.

Hailee Mohawee, Cleveland, Ohio

It does seam strange that in this century it has not been possible to produce an opium poppy specific disease with which to covertly infect these crops .......

Appleseed, Hong Kong,

t's always nice to hear from those who gave us Chamberlain with his umbrella and the line"Peace in our time" who waltzed us into WW II

Frankly, I am one of those who believe that, with a firm grip on the privates the hearts and minds will soon follow.

henry cowan, linthicum, usa

It would be far cheaper to simply buy the opium that the Afghan farmers produce for a higher price than Al Qaeda afford to pay: the opium could be ring fenced for the legitimate pharmaceutical industry. The idea of the British trying to persuade Afghan farmers, who grow opium so effectively, to grow strawberries is a non-runner: Afghanistan is largely a harsh and barren environment and ideal for growing opium; infrastructure in many parts is almost non-existent so taking perishable goods to market is a non-starter for farmers living in remote areas. Opium is relatively non-perishable and easy to transport. It would be far cheaper to simply reward farmers to do what they are good at, getting cash into village economies which would boost development. The cost of waging war in pursuit of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, losing lives, and propping up corrupt governments. Make the Afghan vilagers rich. They will soon lose interest political conflict.

Jonathan Stiles, Helsinki, Finland

A grand hurrah for David from Houston, someone who clearly understands the situation and has summed it up admirably. If only our American cousins would realise we desire the same outcome yet, for many reasons, we believe in differing courses of action. Is it wrong to have differing solutions to the problems on the ground? I though the ability to mediate difference was a necessary part of democracy. Should we not be setting a 'democratic' example to the Afghans or is this going to end up as another situation where the Americans brow beat those in opposition into falling in line. Stay strong Milliband!

Mathew, Eastbourne, England

To Peter in Frankfurt: Then there was the time they stood up to terrorists in germany with overwhemling force, things turned out a bit better. Then again , like most Germans you still cannot tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. If you do not believe there is a difference go live in a muslim country. Or just wait 30 years for yours to become one.

andy, washington, D C

How about a bit of my brititsh borthers optimisim. Do you really think that allowing the cultivation of poppies is going to help the situation? How about thrying to get the farmers on another type of crop?

S Baker , Warren, MI USA

The only way to defeat terrorism is to place it in a vacuum. Starve it of support and it will eventually whither. This is what a hearts and minds policy is all about. It is how we have beaten terrorism in the past.

Bombing the crap out of the locals in Afghanistan will simply feed the resistance and perpetuate the war. You cannot win using these methods. They didn’t work in Vietnam and they won’t work in Afghanistan. You need brains, not B52s.

Operating a hearts and minds policy requires intelligence, patience and subtlety. Maybe if the US stopped conducting warfare like it was some form of glorified computer game, and read a few history books they would be better at it.

Chris Long, Thirsk, England

This story, once again, goes toward supporting the contention that the war in Afghanistan is lost.

It now only requires sufficient time for the UK and the US to admit it - and to somehow put a sufficient spin on this admission so that the blame for this loss can be attributed "elsewhere".

Perry Stalsis, Toronto,

After the 'success' in Basrah, is anybody going to listen to the British military's counterinsurgency 'expertise'. I'm beginning to think they didn't win in Northern Ireland as much as age-related arthritis and hip replacements took their toll on the IRA.

What a disservice to your soldiers to make them scurry out of anywhere in the middle of the night.

Tariq Abdullah, Kuwait City,

The Brits have become, quite simply, a liability and we should seriously reconsider allowing them to participate in American operations. Lets be honest, and no disrespect mean to the Brits, but their military contribution is simply political window-dressing. Worse, lackluster British military performance and generally supine military posture are causing serious embarrassments to the US. The Iranian prisoner fiasco tarnished US prestige by association. Worse, the British performance in Basra culminated in British forces huddling ignominiously in the local airport unwilling to venture forth. Being associated with this kind of military fecklessness can only hurt the US. Can we really afford allies of this sort? Every single piece of advice offered by Britian consists of, essentially, not fighting, or fighting less hard, a strategy evidently purused to brilliant effect in the above two examples. We forget at our peril that Britain is still Europe - they fetishize weakness.

Aaron, New York, USA

Let us hope that the British Government has the courage to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Both are lost causes as you cannot change the society and governments in those countries by a military presence . It is obvious we can't stay there forever. If London has the courage to "annoy Washington" perhaps Canada, Australia, etc. will follow suite and leave. Perhaps then a more sustainable solution can be discussed and implemented.

Janice Sidebotham, Mansfield, Canada

I'm bemused by the fact that US government is even capable of having any strategies other than causing mayhem... Anything they touch breaks. About time the yanks listened to their British allies as they are far more superior in their analysis and understanding the mind set of the people out there. So stop throwing your toys out the pram when you are critised and deal with it!!
But despite all of this I would say that fighting a guirrela war in Afghanestan is an utter waste of innocent lives and resources. The only way to end this is to respect the culture and to engage with them fairly and squarely. I know this as I am from that part of the world.

wiseman, Manchester, UK

Max from Texas- Did you even read that article??? The British want to pull back from Iraq so they can concentrate on Afghanistan because thats the real front in the war on terror!

David, Beijing, China

jonathan mills, Brighton

I'll skip the War of 1812 because while the US had no allies the Brits were involved with Napolean. However, the Mexican-American War, our Civil War, and the Spanish American War were all won without "european allies". WW 1 and 2 were your wars which you did not win without our help. Learn your history.

Brian, Syracuse, US

Many of the American comments defy belief. They confuse intelligent questioning and reviewing of tactics with betrayal. It would be helpful if American citizens put more pressue on their government to streamline and review policy rather than follow the policy of the blind leading the blind in a patriotic frenzy of our way is the only way. It seems if you question an official US goverment policy you are branded a traitor. That view is Stalinist in nature and surely against everything the USA claims to stand for. Culturally it seems the British and Americans have very different attitudes to their leaders. The British seriously question and attack their Primeminister and try to make them accountable whereas the Americans seem to have a very deferential attitude to their President, particulalry the media which borders on criminal in their lack of questioning of their government.

Lee, London,

To Peter of Germany, "Terrorists included guys like Washington, Jefferson etc. " Please explain to me how Washington and Jefferson were terrorists. They never killed innocent people. You know, with former leaders like Hitler, it is funny that a German tries to insult America's founding fathers.

Alex, Seattle, Washington

"The USA should not ignore the rather important fact that they have never, ever, won a conflict when operating without european allies. (That includes the war of independance)". Are you delusional Jonathan? We went for over a hundred years without European "allies" and did just fine. Did you ever hear of the War of 1812, (the second time we defeated the British), The Mexican War, The War between the States, The Spanish American War. No European allies in sight. It wasn't until we came to the aid of Europe in WWI and WWII that we started to have problems and coincidentally "allies". I am all for listening to the Brit military commanders on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq but not if their sense of history is as shallow as yours.

Joe Thornton, Warrenton, Virginia,

Messrs Brown & Miliband would do well to (re-)read "The Amir's Homily" by Kipling and consider who is using the British Army to do what exactly?

Charles, London, UK

jonathan mills, Brighton, I am not sure where you read your history books, but as far as I remember the Mexican/AMerican war in the 1840s didn't have anyone except US against "mexicans. The we move on to the Spanish American war, as for WWI and WWII we live it to the europeans to straighten out their own mess from now on. God help you when there are even more Muslims, you will capitualte in a heart beat, where in the heck is Richard the Lion Heart when you need him?

A very disenchanted Anglophile!

S Baker , Warren, MI USA

Ref Max Austin Texas.
When a friend no longer listens to you, you quietly withdraw and let him carve his own path,
The "surge" should have happened directly after we entered Iraq in order to discharge our duty of care and Governance to that nations people, having dismissed all of their Police and armed services. We sacked the lot of them and sat back as anarchy filled the void.
The Brits alone had a brief window of engaging the people in a Hearts and Minds thrust, and it worked for a while.
It was doomed however as the cancer / anarchy spread.
Which Country Max manouvered itself to a position of ignoring State Departments plans for the Post war Iraq, a plan that the Brits were in full support of ?.
In the meantime in Afghanistan we continue to fight the good fight under NATO whilst your almost entire ground forces punch cotton wool day after day in Iraq.
Was not Afghanistan the nexus of terror we after all stood shoulder to shoulder with you upon ?.
Reread the article !!

Denis Tighe, Glenrothes, UK

All this anti UK clap trap coming from Americans. Remember this...the UK was not stupid enough to get involved in the "unwinnable war" that was Vietnam. It would appear now that the same mistakes are being made again by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq cannot be won because the US does not have a clear idea of what victory is! Winning the war is one thing but winning the peace is another and is far more difficult to achieve with the mindset the US currently have. The UK did not flee Basra and have not left Iraq as some poster suggested. Their atittude is that it the Iraqis turn to take resposibility for their own country and the UK obviously want to focus on Afghanistan where it feels more can be achieved.

Kevin, Wellington, NZ

As usual most of the americans have misunderstood this article and start the idiotic jibes at their british "allies". Your blind arrogance, is the main reason why our two nations are pulling in two different directions.

Look at the facts, you have alienated Afgan farmers by destroying their opium crops without any thought, that they could be our best bet at keeping the taliban in check. We could have taken a more pragmatic view and thought about pharacutical companies usage of opium.

Osama Bin Ladin is still at large and is about to realese a new statment. He has to be one of the most dangerous men on the planet and Bush has taken americas eye way off the ball allowing Bin Ladin to remain at large. Bushes nonsesical rhetroic is at best stupid and arrogant. The fact that Bin Ladin can make a new statment speaks volumes about the bush administations being the nept, incompetent ones

stuart, london, uk

Dudley, if as you say the Brit army considers it's opponents on the battlefield not enemy but potential friends, that might explain Dunkirk in 1940 and Singapore in 1942. Neither Rommel nor Yamashita were your friends.

Jerry, seattle, us

Wait! Doesn't this sound familiar?

First, the Brits say they are unhappy with American tactics. Then, they come up with their own "strategy," which is nothing more than a withdrawal time-table. Finally, they retreat, abandoning their allies.

Oh yeah, it happened in BASRA just last week. That's some track record on waging a counterinsurgency. Maybe you can teach us... No thanks. First, take care of the Islamic insurgency in your own country; then you can teach us stupid Americans how to wage counterinsurgency the right way.

Alex, Seattle, Washington

I used to travel a lot to and from the US for work. I was always amazed at how little informed they were about foreign countries and cultures. Also how biased there news programmes were, and how their media tended to portray a different picture for the American audience to the one you woud see in the rest of the world. My view: sort out Afganistan but help Iraq out of the mess we put them in. Most importantly treat their people with the same respect as we would our own. That excludes brutality and indiscrimanate violence.

David Long, Sussex, UK

There is absolutely no hope of any long term success in Afghanistan or Iraq, so why stay a moment longer? I guess the reason is arms sales, oil in the case of Iraq and a convenient distraction in foreign fields which serves venal politicians and their supporters well.

ADScott, Bangkok, Thailand

Noel, you really think taking the 25,000 US troops out of A'stan is the answer?

Jerry, seattle, us

Once upon a time, in a British colony, some terrorist leaders stood up against the British. The British did not negotiate, they responded with massive force and hence lost the guerilla war.

Terrorists included guys like Washington, Jefferson etc.

Peter, Frankfurt, Germany

"Osama bin Laden plans to issue a video message "

Who? Oh yes, didn't he attack the US once. I lost sight of him in all the oil flowing out of "liberated" Iraq.

Between the oil industry wanting Iraq's main export and the pharamceutical industry trying to stop Afghanistan's main export I have to pose the question - is there a politician out there who still has his eye on the ball that the Taliban and Osama kicked off with in 2001?

KR, Stockport,

At last.....the UK public have waited 5 years for commonsense to prevail over the 'special relationship' - Gordon Brown may lack the 'charisma' of Blair (excuse me, I find it hard to even write his name such is my dislike of the man) but he is demonstrating a high level of integrity and dignity and seems to be bringing some degree of balance back into governement. I suspect he will not be shouting from the rooftops of the Houses of Parliament about his plans for Iraq/Afghanistan, but rather he and his team will quietly set their own strategy based on years of experience in combat situations where winning the peace and nation building has been of paramount importance.
No more walking in the shadows of the US and no more mindless agreements to their every whim - maybe it will take a stern Scot to bring us back into centre-stage. If so, I say, 'bring him on'!

Joy, Crowthorne, UK

Well finally a bit of reality about the so-called coalition forged by that great showman Blair. The Americans (Bush-ites) just don't get it over Iraq, and Afghanistan, although I think more and more they are beginning to see the light. I don't think anyone here is claiming a British superiority of analysis over how these dreadful campaigns have played out, as after all, Blair supported Bush "shoulder to shoulder". Wiser heads seem to be prevailing in London now, and maybe this will bring pressure on the intellectually bankrupt Bush team. Bush's performance is truly pathetic to watch. But he wont change, nor will he change course. The only way this will happen in US foreign policy is when the next president takes over; in Bush's eyes he will have won, as the withdrawal that ensues will produce a period of inevitable chaos, and a chorus from Bush/Cheney of "We told you so". All to marginally improve their place in history, rather than to take firm decisions, and to be proper leaders.

samtam, Bangkok, Thailand

You are winning battles, huh? What a joke. If this is how you are winning battles, I'd hate to see you losing.

norm c. , moscow,

"......Why don't you know it all Brits just take your wisdom and great military strength and do the job by yourself. This constant desire to act as if you are so militarily superior is quite amusing, but the backstabbing and lies are not. You are inept, incompetent and unreliable excuses for allies.

Jeff, Weston, USA...."

Typical right wing American reaction, as exemplified by Jeff Weston, when advised maybe some American military methods might not be the most effective.

That's rights Jeff, denigrate US's one true ally that has been willing to fight along the US forces in Iraq AND Afghanistan. I take it that the US should forever be beyond any criticism and of course its forces are never "inept" and "incompetent". The various military blunders that have resulted in the almighty mess that is Iraq and numerous incidences of friendly fire that have killed UK/US service personnel as well as innocent civilians have nothing to do with the always "competent" US forces, I suppose.

Paul Roberts, London,

Max, Austin, Texas Look it's quite simple really, we've just finished paying you lot off for helping us out in WW2 & to be honest we British Taxpayers are tapped out. As one of your most famous songs goes - 'Hey Buddy, can you spare me a Dime'.

John Clark, Warwick, UK

To say that Britain is risking a new foreign policy rift with the US is as risible as it is transparent. It is obvious that Britain wants out of Afganistan as it has now left Iraq. Britain is an asset in the American arsenal, but hardly a critical one. Please spare us the dramatics and leave already. I suppose we will just have to muddle along without the brilliancy of British generals and politicians.

M. Williams, Asheville, NC, USA

The difference between American & British outlook is one of military philosopy. UK armed forces have for decades been a mix of soldier and policeman, using armed force only when policing failed, Malaya, Aden, SIngapore etc, etc. The American armed forces are trained to be a killing machine. Anyone who they are sent against are the enemy and are to be destroyed. They are all viewed as the enemy, whilst the UK outlook is that they are a mix of friends and enemy and to try to use the friends to displace the enemy by working with the best interests of the local inhabitants. It is not for nothing that American armed forces have, since the 2nd World War been referred to as "shoot first, ask questions later." The Americans also tend to think that those who are not with us are against us, another outlook that makes enemies of neutrals who could be made friends. Having said all this, where we would all be if it wasn't for America, and no wise cracks about, 'not in Iraq'!

Dudley Holley, Thorpe Bay, UK

The problem isn't that America and Britain disagree over Iraq and Afghanistan, it's that we're both in both countries. Let us handle Afghanistan while the Yanks deal with Iraq, and Iran if they wish.

Noel Falconer, COUIZA, France

Dear Jonathan,

The bodies of tens of thousands of young Australian men lie buried in military cemetaries in France, Belgium, Malaya, North Africa, Palestine, and the Gallipoli Peninsula courtesy of British military 'skills and experience'.

We have learnt to ignore your military advice. I suspect that the Americans have learnt likewise. You have more than enough of your own military disasters to have acquired some degree of humility.

I could not imagine anything more calculated to infuriate the US (and elsewhere) than wagging yourr finger (in your usual arrogant European way).

H, Brisbane seconded London,

A lot of Americans seem to disapprove of the Brits current methods, but maybe if they had listened to the Brits a little more then Iraq wouldn't be such a mess. American gratitude seems to have an awfully short expiration date!

My Dad spent 3 years in post-war Iraq and has been in Kandahar for about a year. Some of the things he noted in Iraq were US G.I.s on patrol regularly listening to their I-pods! He also noted their much greater de-humanized view of the Iraqis.

Spraying the crops of farmers in Afghanistan will be a sure fire way to turn them Taliban overnight. But who cares about long-term rehabilitation when you can get a great sound-bite on FOX huh??

David, Manila, Philippines

Max that's not surprising as it seems America is also deaf to the global sentiment and consensus that you should not have ridden your oil/war machine into Iraq...

Quixote, Singapore,

you want the US to follow the British tactics? the same tactics that made you flee Basra?

chris , dubai, uae

Imagine that George Brown's high priority agenda included, "Get troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq". Of course the "special relationship" would suffer, but assuming Brown is prime minister longer than George Bush is president, hardly any cause to lose sleep.
Separate Brown from Blair in the public's mind before calling a general election, and what better way than by bringing the "boys" home. Then a Brown/Labour victory would be very much on the cards. Ghastly, isn't it?

Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Kanagawa

some of the americans on this thread are like spoilt teenagers - ungrateful and rude to their parents and unwilling to take good advice as they see it as a personal attack.

you should be glad of the military and political support you get from the uk (and aus). because you're getting precious little from any other source. if we hold different opinions to you on some issues, then they are opinions upon which you would do well to reflect.

you might want to consider the fact that not everything america does is right. not least because the important opinion is that of those peoples who hearts and minds you are trying to win. it's no good thinking you're bloody wonderful if they think you are crusading thieves. even if their views seem unfair to you or repugnant, you still have to persuade them.

we can understand "my country.. right or wrong" (just about); we cannot understand "my country is right", however.

jem, london, uk

After losing Basra to Iran, one might have reasonably
expected the Brits to shut up for a while.
You don't seem to be much better than when we met you after
1776.
I think you should go it alone.

Dave M., london, USA / UK

As usual most of the americans have misunderstood this article and start the idiotic jibes at their british "allies". Your blind arrogance, is the main reason why our two nations are pulling in two different directions.

Look at the facts, you have alienated Afgan farmers by destroying their opium crops without any thought, that they could be our best bet at keeping the taliban in check. We could have taken a more pragmatic view and thought about pharacutical companies usage of opium.

Osama Bin Ladin is still at large and is about to realese a new statment. He has to be one of the most dangerous men on the planet and Bush has taken americas eye way off the ball allowing Bin Ladin to remain at large. Bushes nonsesical rhetroic is at best stupid and arrogant. The fact that Bin Ladin can make a new statment speaks volumes about the bush administations being the nept, incompetent ones

stuart, london, uk

Looks to me like they're using this to play down the retreat from Iraq and somehow save face by playing up Afghanistan. If I recall Mr. Brown met with Bill Clinton while here. He learns fast.

Murph, Madisonville, USA/KY

The British point of view is simply daft. Given their performance in Basra, they clear no longer know what they're talking about.

William McIlhagga, Ilkley,

I sense an air of resignation in foreign office statements, as if the subtext is 'it's the Bush administration, what you gonna do?'

Owen, London, UK

If only we could have decent governance and democracy in the UK! Let alone destroying our Army and getting the boys killed for nothing in an hell-hole at the end of the world.!
Either buy the opium and come home - not a worse way of spending the UK taxpayers' money than most of the Labour governments' methods. And nice and touchy-feely for the poor Afgan farmers! Or just come home and forget the whole thing.
We have as much chance of bringing democracy and prosperity to Afganistan, as a cat has of learning astrophysics!
Iraq has to be sorted out: our ciivlisation is finished without Middle East oil. Afganistan was a hole a million years ago, and will be so in another million years. Without affecting us in the slightest!
It seems to me that both the Amerian approach and the British one are laughable. The tragedy really is that after all our dead and wounded we are quarrelling with our prime friends and Allies, the US! Like boys fighting over a booby-trapped toy!

Robert Sebag-Montefiore, Geneva, Switzerland

The Americans will listen if we start engaging unilaterally with the Russians. Show 'em how it's done.

Good job in Afghanistan, ditto.

The Hashemite Kingdom is a shining example of how civil and religious freedoms can co-exist. Take off the sunglasses and get on with it.

Sonnenblume, Nederlands,

Alan, London is currently mopping up the mess of the American created subprime debacle. It's also the financial hub of the world, allowing your banks and businesses to expand using our expertise. That's what you buy from the UK. You also get an army that knows what it's doing and has proven experience of conflict resolution (unlike US expertise in creation). And you buy a hair brained government that goes along with yours despite the folly of its strategies and ideas.

Rupert, London,

If only politicians read history!. Hearts and minds is the only way to go. If that means 'Buying in' the next two or three years poppy crop so be it. Farmers and tribesmen have to eat. Buy the poppies and encourage alternative crops. Get hard on corruption and take on the Taleban on the ground. If necessary pay the Afghan Police, Customs and Anti narcotic agents directly to avoid the corruption.

Robert, Edinburgh, U.K

The answer is simple. Pay the Afghani's what their crop would fetch on the open market If the cost is in the Billions, it has to be less than the current costs which are achieving nothing.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

listen to the british. british army had years of experience dealing in terrorism..e.g Malaya,northern ireland. Time to pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Our boys being killed daily in order to help the US achieve her aim. Our British army had a proud and distinguished history even though sometimes stained by indecisions by the govenment.. but our boys must be sent home before more young Brits soldiers being killed!

Zeddy Matthews, British expat in Far East, singapore

Finally Britain has a Prime Minister ready to talk some sense into the Bush Administration. For too long Tony Blair kept too quiet on poor strategy.

Darragh, Dublin, Ireland

It looks like our american allies are preparing to bomb their way into another Vietnam. Don't expect blind unquestioning support in everything the US does around the world.

Phil Smith, Manama, Bahrain

Max..Read the article. There is no way we are leaving Afghanistan, we're just letting you know that the war on terrorism, in Afghanistan, which you started by the way, is being lost because you are more interested in Iraq. You're like that minority of Americans who open your mouths without thinking, intellectually bankrupt !. ...Speechless..wish you were. READ the article.

kirk, Rotherham, UK

Good for the British. President Bush is way off course, and the whole world is counting down for the end of this presidency. We are not the only people in the world and our vision is wrong.

Watts Taylor, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Irrespective that UK military skills have been developed in the main from a thousand years of dubious and imperial conflicts - the fact is that our military have the skills and experience that the USA lacks in this area. We do not expect the USA to blindly follow our policies (although they appear to expect this of us); but they would be well advised to listen carefully to what our military advise in any conflict zone. The USA should not ignore the rather important fact that they have never, ever, won a conflict when operating without european allies. (That includes the war of independance). If the British commanders on the ground state a particular plan is incorrect - I would be inclined to believe them, rather than the armchair failures sitting in the Pentagon.

jonathan mills, Brighton,

Yes, Allies................not your lapdog.

michael, ex-pat in san diego, ca. / usa

Well Max I assure you that our politicians can be just as machiavellian as yours. However, something needs to change, Bush's folksy rhetoric has aleinated most of the world, its clear he cannot deliver a solution to this.

Bush doesn't want to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanisted he wants them to continue because he says its that or face attack at home. That philosophy cannot win or end these wars. Britain has had 30 years experience of fighting terrorism and learned it cannot be won militarily, peace can only be acheived by building bridges. Bush has simply failed to learn this lesson.

John W, Oldham,

OK, OK, time to quit buying British products. Boycott!
By the way, what do we buy from Britain?

Allan, Bellevue, WA, USA

The problem with the United States is that it is an arms industry with a country and can only think in terms of deploying munitions.

John Camus, Colchester, UK

The British Government may be an ally of the USA in Iraq and Afghanistan - the British people definitely are not.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

I think that the British are simply tired of following the US like sheep - sheep that appear to have little policy about anything other than using brute force to attack anyone and anything that dares to challenge them.

CRL Child, Ajaccio, Corsica, France

I only wish it were so but the reality is we are going in deeper and deeper. The Army is talking about being there for a generation. In the end it is likely to end in some messy compromise we call victory but leaves the place as wretched as we found it with many dead on all sides and the UK deeper in debt. Spare us our crusading politicians.

oldasiahand, Guildford, UK

It looks like our british allies are preparing to manoeveur their way out of Afghanistan as well. I am speechless

max, Austin , texas

The sooner the better. Imperial hubris will be your death-knoll,not ours.

Oliver, Brighton,

We never had any business in Afghanistan, propping up a government that is too unpopular to maintain itself in power. How long untl this is recognised?

Ernst, Farnham,

Why don't you know it all Brits just take your wisdom and great military strength and do the job by yourself. This constant desire to act as if you are so militarily superior is quite amusing, but the backstabbing and lies are not. You are inept, incompetent and unreliable excuses for allies.

Jeff, Weston, USA

Max

A bit like the US government and US military you have completely misunderstood the article - it's not about intended withdrawal by the Brits, it's about a wholly different approach to post war nation-building. The Brits do it in a totally different fashion with an excellent track record in delivery through a hearts and minds approach - and, arguably, the Americans don't do it at all.

You cannot use brute force and ignorance to impose the American way of life on the Afghans (or other nations) in the hope they will suddenly become ardent fans of democracy, it's just bloody naive!

If the US wants to effect change it first needs to ensure all its forces understand the people its working with to 'liberate' - you could start by removing Pizza Hut and McD franchises from overseas bases in Iraq and Afghanistan - the less they feel an overseas US base is a home away from home, the greater the chance they may come to better understand the people they seek to influence.

David, Houston, TX

There's a war on back home in the UK, but hardly anyone has noticed. It's time for the troops to come home and defend our values from corruption by deluded allah-fanatics and their British fellow-travellers and supporters.

Terry Dell, Weybridge, UK

I think our US allies simply need to acknowledge there are strategies other than their own that can work.
Gordon Brown has made it clear the UK has no intention of exiting out of Afghanistan. Perhaps the Brown Government is simply more inclined to express its point of view, which is not a bad thing.
With John Howard hopefully due to lose power in Australia before year end the new Australian Govt will be more in tune to the UK as well, so best get used to it.
Once the US election is out of the way we may even see a more intelligent approach to these issues from the US Administration, if it's Democrat.

Philip , Sydney, NSW, Australia

History proves that it's very normal for the local population to turn against the colonial 'invaders' of their land. So, the Afgans are just doing that against what they imagine the NATO forces to be. With the american gung ho bombing tactics of the civilans as colateral damage, it is seen by the locals as a war against them, hence their growing support of the 'resistance'

Arvin, London, UK

No they're not.

Perhaps you're reading something else?

Sam, Hillsboro, OR

It's frustrating when your so-called allies, the Americans, have no clue what they are doing and sabotage any progress that's made. It's like the US government are a branch of al Quaeda. Noone could have done a better job recruiting for them.

Mick, Queens,

It looks like our british allies are preparing to manoeveur their way out of Afghanistan as well. I am speechless

max, Austin , texas