Published Date: 08 October 2008 By Jonathon Burch and Kristin Roberts THE United States defence secretary, Robert Gates, has accused Britain's military commander in Afghanistan and its ambassador to the country of being "defeatist" in thinking the war cannot be won. Comments by Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith and the ambassador, Sherard Cowper-Coles, have been echoed by the top United Nations official in Kabul, who said success was possible only through dialogue and other political efforts. But Mr Gates, who is trying to drum up more troops for the conflict, insisted: "While we face significant challenges in Afghanistan, there certainly is no reason to be defeatist or to underestimate the opportunities to be successful in the long run." The US led an invasion of Afghanistan on 7 October, 2001, to oust the fundamentalist Taleban...
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