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The Prime Minister will attempt to boost flagging support for British involvement in Afghanistan, following the shock resignation of a ministerial aide over the war.
Eric Joyce, parliamentary private secretary to the Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth, said the Government could no longer claim the conflict was a fight to combat terrorism.
The former army major's move came on the same day that two more British Army soldier deaths were announced, and ahead of a keynote speech in which Gordon Brown will reaffirm his personal commitment to the mission in the country.
The premier, in a speech planned for some time, will stress the increasing financial and logistical support being made available for Britain's armed forces. He will argue that success in the country is vital in helping to prevent terror attacks in Britain, saying: "We cannot walk away."
The Ministry of Defence is expected to name the two British soldiers killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan. A soldier from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was killed in an explosion in Babaji district in Helmand on Wednesday, and a second soldier, from 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, died from a gunshot wound he sustained on a foot patrol, also in Babaji.
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The number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001 is now 212, including 41 in July and August this year alone. Mr Joyce called on the Prime Minister to make it clear to the British people the Afghanistan campaign was "time-limited".
In his resignation letter the Falkirk MP said: "I do not think the public will accept for much longer that our losses can be justified by simply referring to the risk of greater terrorism on our streets. Nor do I think we can continue with the present level of uncertainty about the future of our deployment in Afghanistan."
Mr Brown is expected to make exactly this argument as he will point out that the majority of al Qaida-inspired attacks aimed at Britain emanate from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.
Mr Joyce claimed Labour would not win the next general election until it got a grip on defence and demanded an exit strategy from Afghanistan during the next Parliament. He said: "I do not think the British people will support the physical risk to our servicemen and women unless they can be given confidence that Afghanistan's government has been properly elected and has a clear intent to deal with the corruption there which has continued unabated in recent years.
"We also need to make it clear that our commitment in Afghanistan is high but time-limited. It should be possible now to say that we will move off our present war-footing and reduce our forces there substantially during our next term in government."
