MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chief of Defence Staff warns UK forces “overstretched”

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup

The head of the United Kingdom armed forces gave a clear warning to ministers that troops should not be transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan when Britain's military commitment there is scaled down next year.

Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said it was "crucial" for the armed forces to experience a reduction in the tempo of operations over the coming period, in order to recover from several years of overstretch. His comments come as US President-elect Barack Obama prepares to order a significant increase in troop numbers in Afghanistan in the hope of finally quelling the Taliban insurgency in the country. Foreign Secretary David Miliband indicated that the UK, whose 8,100 troops in Afghanistan make it the second largest contributor to the international force, will expect other NATO countries to take up a bigger share of the burden in any US-led "surge". And he appeared to rule out the commitment of British troops to the peace-keeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, insisting: "That is not on the agenda." Sir Jock Stirrup said he was "optimistic" that 2009 will see a "significant reduction" in the UK's 4,000-strong contingent in Iraq, as the fundamental change of mission promised by Prime Minister Gordon Brown comes into effect. But he cautioned that this will not mean that thousands more servicemen and women become available for deployment to Afghanistan and other hotspots around the world. Sir Jock told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "I have said for a very long time that the British armed forces are stretched. We are doing more than we are structured and resourced to do in the long term. We can do it for a short period, but we can't continue doing it ad infinitum. "We have to put ourselves back into balance. It is crucial that we reduce the operational tempo for our armed forces. So it can't be - even if the situation demanded it - just a one-for-one transfer from Iraq to Afghanistan. We have to reduce that tempo." Sir Jock warned that the struggle in Afghanistan was "a marathon, not a sprint", adding: "We need to be there at the finishing line."