Sacked US General Stanley McChrystal issued a devastatingly critical assessment of the war against a ‘resilient and growing insurgency’ just days before being forced out.

Using confidential military documents, copies of which have been seen by the IoS, the ‘runaway general’ briefed defence ministers from Nato and the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) earlier this month, and warned them not to expect any progress in the next six months. During his presentation, he raised serious concerns over levels of security, violence, and corruption within the Afghan administration.

Details of General McChrystal’s grim assessment of his own strategy’s current effectiveness emerged as the world’s most powerful leaders set the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, a five-year deadline to improve security and governance in his country.

The G8 summit in Toronto called for ‘concrete progress’ within five years on improving the justice system and for Afghan forces to assume greater responsibility for security. David Cameron said a ‘political surge’ must now complement the military one.

But the ‘campaign overview’ left behind by General McChrystal after he was sacked by President Barack Obama last week warned that only a fraction of the areas key to long-term success are ‘secure’, governed with ‘full authority’, or enjoying ‘sustainable growth’. He […]