British worry US approach to Afghanistan will play into Taliban's plans

A NATO spokesman said the British troops in Sangin still have freedom of movement, but Col. Kampman acknowledged that the situation in that district cannot be allowed to continue. That stretch along the Helmand River holds strategic importance because it's a fertile growing area for poppies, making it vital for the drug trade, he said. A crucial electricity corridor also runs through that area, carrying power from the Kajaki dam to Kandahar city. The city has experienced severe shortages of electricity in recent months, but a US contractor hired to expand the dam's capacity has refused to work until security improves.

The Globe and Mail also reports that the Taliban position has hardened since the death of Mullah Akhtar Usmani in an air strike. Mr. Usmani was seen as a moderating voice in the Taliban, and his death has opened the door for his rival, the "notoriously bloodthirsty" Mullah Dadullah, to exercise more control over Taliban operations.

Meanwhile, the current inquest into the death of Lance Cpl. Matthew 'Matty' Hull, who as killed in 2003 when two American jets mistakenly attacked a British convoy in Iraq, illustrates another concern for the British military about the US approach in Afghanistan: an increase in friendly fire deaths of British soldiers. The Observer reports how British ministers have battled for years to try and get the US military to provide explanations for the deaths of British soldiers in friendly fire incidents since 2003.

Britain maintains it would be glad to send soldiers to an inquest in America, but the fact remains that no UK soldier has killed an American counterpart in Iraq or Afghanistan. What rankles with many within the army is the Pentagon's refusal to even release the identities of US soldiers and pilots involved in friendly-fire deaths to the coroner or the [Ministry of Defense]. The pilots involved in Hull's death are understood to have never faced disciplinary action, let alone a court martial. A US Board of Inquiry on 28 March 2003 into the killing of the young lance corporal has never been made public. Sources claim that the cockpit footage, which is waiting to be declassified, records an American accent saying that 'someone's going to jail for this'.

The Daily Mail reported in November of 2006 that the British government became so furious over the US refusal to "make American troops answer for their mistakes on the battlefield," that former Solicitor General and current Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman summoned US Deputy Ambassador David Johnson for a "dressing down." The Guardian reported Friday that Ms. Harman said that she has met with Mr. Johnson several times, only to explain the British coroner's inquest system to him.

The Guardian also reports that a message board operated for British service personnel shows how deep the mistrust of US forces goes.

One said: 'I have met a former US pilot, and he would never have made the rank of private in the TA here. I wouldn't have trusted him to drive a bus.' Another said: 'The American military have the best technology and worst personnel. The British military have the worst technology but best personnel. The Americans have one mentality – if it moves, shoot it.'

The Daily Telegraph reports that while the Pentagon has not allowed the soldiers to appear at a British inquest into the death of Hull, the court was played a tape of the two US pilots involved, who were not identified, saying it happened because of "confusion over their intended targets, frustration at conflicting orders and poor communications with air controllers on the ground."

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