President Barack Obama’s national security aides gave a bleak warning about the conflict in Afghanistan yesterday as they called on their European allies for a new international military and civilian approach to the war-torn nation. Richard Holbrooke, who heads to the region tomorrow as Mr Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the annual conference on security in Munich that the US and its allies needed to be far more realistic about their objectives in Afghanistan, warning: ‘It’s going to be much tougher than Iraq.’ Arguing that Nato’s future was ‘on the line’ Mr Holbrooke said: ‘We seek attainable objectives but we will add more resources. I have never seen anything like the mess we have inherited.’ His dire assessement was reinforced by General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in the Middle East and central Asia, who said the war in Afghanistan had ‘deteriorated markedly in the past two years’ and warned of a ‘downward spiral of security’. The speeches by Gen Petraeus and Mr Holbrooke were notable for their lack of any mention of President Hamid Karzai, the Afghan leader. Senior figures in the Obama administration have made little secret in recent […]