Poor old Gordon Brown really gets sucked in Afghan mess.

Until recently UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown virtually ignored the Afghan campaign.
He was not too worried about the lack of helicopters or his inability to appoint a defence secretary, who would stay the course. Brown is much happier talking about Africa or reforming the world financial system. He is not a "war leader", few politicians are but his own lack of conviction about the campaign is proving
fatal.
If we are there to defend the security of the United Kingdom, then why are we not attacking Pakistan where most of the terrorist plots come from? Brown had a chance to pull out when he took over from Tony Blair. He would have won domestic plaudits and would have obviously upset the Americans. However, Brown could have gone for an early general election before the voters got to know what he was like.
A withdrawal might have even made it easier for the U.S to pull back. Wars put incredible strains on public finances especially if countries do not want to raise taxes to pay for them. There is also a terrible price to be paid in lost lives. Currently, there is talk of retreating from the northern part of Helmand province. This does not really square with claims from the UK government and military that we are making progress. Attempts to build liberal democracies in Pakistan and Afghanistan are probably insane.