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The head of the British Army has said that military top brass and politicians must do more to win support for the conflict in Afghanistan.
In a letter sent to the Daily Telegraph amid increasing public disquiet about the campaign, General Sir David Richards said the military mission was necessary to "protect our security" and was "winnable".
He said failure in Afghanistan would impact on the wider region, adding: "It has been a struggle to persuade the British public about this and we need to do better. We should not allow our security policy to be driven by opinion polls."
The general said: "I am clear about why British soldiers are fighting, and sometimes dying, in Afghanistan. It is to protect our country's security and our involvement is non-discretionary.
"It is not a coincidence that since the International Security Assistance Force mission began, al Qaida has been unable to plan or orchestrate any further atrocities against the West from within Afghanistan's borders."
He said military success would come when the Afghans could "sustain the fight without our help", and that it would take "a few years" to reach that point.
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A total of 221 British service personnel have died in Afghanistan since operations began there in 2001. Thirty-seven troops alone died this summer during some of the bloodiest fighting of the campaign.
Gordon Brown has approved sending 500 extra troops to the country, a move that would take Britain's troop commitment there to 9,500.
On Sunday, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said his party could withdraw its support for the UK's military presence in Afghanistan unless strategy is changed to make the conflict winnable.
He said he wanted the mission to succeed, but continuing on the present course was "almost certainly condemned to failure" and that his backing was not unconditional.
