The death of 15 British soldiers in two weeks has led to intensified debate in the UK over the Afghanistan war, with the military pushing for more troops in Helmand province, opposition parties calling for better equipment and the renewal of discussion about why the UK is taking part at all.
A senior US official told the Financial Times that there was “some level of anxiety” within Barack Obama’s administration about the UK debate.
“It’s hard to see our most capable partner struggling in this debate,” the official said. “When it happens in a country like Germany, you think, ‘well, that’s Germany and they have special difficulties in light of the upcoming [German] elections’, but when it happens in London it hits hard.”
The official added: “If we are going to have to backfill European countries that decide to leave, could we sustain that with US public opinion? That’s an open question.”
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