Military peer in SOS for troops; CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN.

Byline: By BRIAN LIRONI, Political editor

A RETIRED military chief yesterday warned that thousands more troops will have to be sent to Afghanistan.

Air Marshal Lord Tim Garden, former assistant chief of the defence staff, believes the 3700 troops in the region may not be enough.

And the Lib Dem peer warned our troops don't have the resources to fight two wars at the same time.

He said: "With simultaneous operations in Iraq, the shortages of key specialists and vital capabilities like helicopters are beginning to bite.

"You cannot produce a trained pilot overnight or get a helicopter from your local supermarket.

"The Afghanistan operation is vital to our long-term security, but there will be increasing problems in sustaining the level of effort that is needed.

"Given that the local warlords, drug producers and Taliban insurgents have had a free run for the past four years, this was always going to be a difficult mission."

Last week six British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan and military chiefs asked for another 1000 troops as back-up.

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Warning: Garden