Gordon Brown - the enemy within.

Yesterday, in a post examining American concerns over NATO in Afghanistan, I asked a question:

The Brits and Canucks are being asked to do too much with too little and, unless NATO governments act to sort out the problems of under-manning and under-equipment, it can only be a matter of time before there is a major Taliban massacre and rout of some coalition troops in Helmand or Kandahar. The British government must be getting similar intelligence so the question is, why are they not acting on it?

In the Daily Telegraph, the ever-sharp Bill Deedes, who has been reporting on foreign affairs since the 1930s, had the answer: the chancellor, Gordon Brown, is refusing to divert money away from social programmes designed to bolster his campaign to succeed Blair as prime minister.

Related links: John Keegan, Brown Treats the Services Shabbily.

Speeches by General Jackson and General Dannett.