General warns of unwinnable guerrilla war

THE former commander of Nato forces in Europe fears that America, Britain and their allies could become embroiled in an unwinnable guerrilla war in Afghanistan.

Gen Wesley Clark said in an interview with The Telegraph that there were "worrisome signs" that the allies were drifting into a position similar to that which assailed Soviet forces after their invasion in 1979. "They won big victories to start with," he said. "It took a year or two for the opposition to build up."

His words will stoke the concern of MPs and others in Britain who fear that the deployment of 1,700 troops based around a Royal Marines commando unit will be the first step in an entanglement that will end in disaster.