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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/brown-aide-pressed-nato-commander.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Leak documents suggest one of ex-PM Gordon Brown's senior advisers asked the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan to play down his concerns" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/min-brown-aide-pressed-nato-commander.jpg" alt="Leak documents suggest one of ex-PM Gordon Brown's senior advisers asked the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan to play down his concerns"/></a></p>
<p>One of Gordon Brown&#8217;s senior advisers asked the commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan to play down his concerns over the campaign to avoid damaging the Labour government, according to leaked documents.</p>
<p>The request came as the then-prime minister visited the country and was briefed by US General Stanley McChrystal on the growing threat posed by the Taliban.</p>
<p>A security adviser to the premier is said to have told Gen McChrystal &#8211; with Mr Brown present &#8211; that his &#8220;bleak assessment&#8221; could result in negative press coverage.</p>
<p>At the time, the government was under pressure over equipment shortages and high casualties suffered by British forces.</p>
<p>A US diplomatic cable, passed to the Daily Telegraph by the WikiLeaks website, makes clear that the general refused to back down.</p>
<p>&#8220;COMISAF (Gen McChrystal) replied that while he was sensitive to that impression, he would maintain his intellectual honesty &#8211; and that what might be perceived by some as a bleak assessment might be considered by others to be &#8216;realistic&#8217;,&#8221; it said. &#8220;COMISAF stressed that while the situation in Afghanistan was &#8216;serious and deteriorating&#8217;, the mission could still be accomplished with proper resources and a focus on ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) expansion and partnering.</p>
<p>&#8220;Threats to security emanated from a resilient and growing insurgency, a crisis in confidence toward the government and its abilities and overall questions about Nato commitments. COMISAF said that without additional resources, current efforts would be &#8216;fixed&#8217; &#8211; but with more resources, enough terrain could be controlled to deny the Taliban strategic traction.&#8221;</p>
<p>The meeting was held at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand in August 2009. Just over a month later Mr Brown attended a similar meeting in London with David Miliband, then foreign secretary, Gen McChrystal and Admiral Mullen, US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.</p>
<p>Simon McDonald, then head of foreign and defence policy, asked the Americans to show &#8220;sympathy for the pressure&#8221; that Mr Brown was under.</p>
<p>Mr Brown &#8220;repeatedly and forcefully&#8221; underscored the need for Afghan forces to play a much greater role, according to the cables. He said his challenge was &#8220;persuading the British people that there was a way forward and not a stalemate&#8221;.</p>
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