Britain wants the UN to take the lead role in a "strategic plan" for Afghanistan amid growing concern about the impact of Nato and US military operations and the failure to get aid to those who need it. A call for the UN to coordinate the many largely ineffective development projects designed to improve life for Afghans was made by Des Browne, the defence secretary, in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday. "There is a genuine hunger for leadership among the military, among aid communities, and among the NGOs," he said.
| Boy howdy, let the UN do it instead of the French and Germans in NATO. There's a sure recipe for success. |
In an unusually pointed statement after a meeting with Robert Gates, his US counterpart, Mr Browne said he had stressed "just how important it is for Nato and its members to maximise our efforts in keeping the consent of the civilian population there in order to achieve our aims".
| How about having the civilians do some of the heavy lifting? |
"We also need to heed President [Hamid] Karzai's words and take the greatest possible care to protect civilians during military operations to defeat the Taliban."
| And just as great care to nail the 'civilians' helping the Taliban. |
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