"UK Can’t Fight Two Wars at Same Time"
Source: Alalam.ir, 25-06-2008
LONDON--Britain cannot continue to fight two wars on the scale of Iraq and Afghanistan indefinitely, the head of the armed forces warned yesterday.
Chief of Defense Staff Sir Jock Stirrup claimed the conflicts were stretching UK military capabilities to near breaking point.
In a stark assessment of the pull on resources from the missions in the two countries, Sir Jock said: "We are not structured or resourced to do two of these things on this scale on an enduring basis - but we have been doing it on an enduring basis for years."
''Until we get to the stage when one of them comes down to small scale, we will be stretched beyond the capabilities we have. That is not what we are structured for nor is it what we plan for. We are very stretched at the moment.''
''Until we get down to one operation at this scale, we are always going to be stretched.''
Sir Jock was careful not to use the term 'overstretch'.
His stark warning came as it was announced that a second British paratrooper had been killed in Afghanistan just a few hours after another was shot down by the Taliban.
The latest casualty, a soldier from the 4th Battalion the Parachute Regiment, was killed while he checked for mines in the Upper Sangin Valley yesterday afternoon.
Hours earlier in the same area of Helmand province, a soldier from the 2nd Battalion of the same regiment was fatally wounded in a firefight with insurgents.
Their deaths continue one of the bloodiest phases in the conflict. In total, 11 soldiers have now died this month - seven of them paratroopers.
However, it is the first time the most senior officer in the British military has expressed such grave doubts about the struggle faced by servicemen and women fighting on two fronts.
The Government insists that the armed forces are not overstretched but opposition MPs said Sir Jock's blunt remarks have unmasked the true extent of UK military commitments overseas.
There are 4,000 British troops in Iraq, with no clear timetable for withdrawal, and numbers in Afghanistan will soon exceed 8,000.
Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, has already claimed that the ongoing operations could 'break' the Army.
LONDON--Britain cannot continue to fight two wars on the scale of Iraq and Afghanistan indefinitely, the head of the armed forces warned yesterday.
Chief of Defense Staff Sir Jock Stirrup claimed the conflicts were stretching UK military capabilities to near breaking point.
In a stark assessment of the pull on resources from the missions in the two countries, Sir Jock said: "We are not structured or resourced to do two of these things on this scale on an enduring basis - but we have been doing it on an enduring basis for years."
''Until we get to the stage when one of them comes down to small scale, we will be stretched beyond the capabilities we have. That is not what we are structured for nor is it what we plan for. We are very stretched at the moment.''
''Until we get down to one operation at this scale, we are always going to be stretched.''
Sir Jock was careful not to use the term 'overstretch'.
His stark warning came as it was announced that a second British paratrooper had been killed in Afghanistan just a few hours after another was shot down by the Taliban.
The latest casualty, a soldier from the 4th Battalion the Parachute Regiment, was killed while he checked for mines in the Upper Sangin Valley yesterday afternoon.
Hours earlier in the same area of Helmand province, a soldier from the 2nd Battalion of the same regiment was fatally wounded in a firefight with insurgents.
Their deaths continue one of the bloodiest phases in the conflict. In total, 11 soldiers have now died this month - seven of them paratroopers.
However, it is the first time the most senior officer in the British military has expressed such grave doubts about the struggle faced by servicemen and women fighting on two fronts.
The Government insists that the armed forces are not overstretched but opposition MPs said Sir Jock's blunt remarks have unmasked the true extent of UK military commitments overseas.
There are 4,000 British troops in Iraq, with no clear timetable for withdrawal, and numbers in Afghanistan will soon exceed 8,000.
Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, has already claimed that the ongoing operations could 'break' the Army.
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