More British and American troops will die in Afghanistan, but the war against the Taliban is in the national interests of both countries, the US vice-president, Joe Biden, said today.
Speaking in the deadliest month for British troops since the US-led invasion in 2001, Biden insisted that the current offensive against the Taliban in Helmand province was worth the effort and was a "prerequisite" to get the country ready for presidential elections next month.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme Biden said: "In terms of the national interests of Great Britain and the national interests of the United States and Europe, it is worth the effort we are making and the sacrifice that is being felt and more will come."
The 19th British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan this month is expected to be named today.
Biden refused to be drawn into the row over resources – particularly helicopters – for British forces, but he praised British soldiers.
"I think they are among the best trained and the bravest warriors in the world," he said. "I am not in a position to make a judgment as to whether or not the weapons inventory, the equipment they have, is all they need. I assume it is, I am just not prepared to comment on that."
With the British government under increasing political pressure as casualties mount, Biden restated the case for Nato's presence in Afghanistan.
"This is the place from which the attacks of 9/11 and all those attacks in Europe that came from al-Qaida have flowed – between Afghanistan and Pakistan … It is a place that, if it doesn't get straightened out, will continue to wreak havoc on Europe and the United States."
Gordon Brown was forced on the defensive yesterday when he said that British deaths were not due to a lack of helicopters. He also rejected Lord Malloch-Brown's suggestion that the true threat from al-Qaida lay in Somalia and Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
Lord Malloch-Brown, the outgoing Foreign Office minister, told the Daily Telegraph that "we definitely don't have enough helicopters", and claimed "mobility" was crucial for the dangerous operations. But in a statement an hour before Brown's regular Downing Street press conference, Malloch-Brown, who is leaving the government at the end of this week, said his comments had been misunderstood.
After the latest British death was announced last night, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "We share in the pain that is felt by his family, friends and colleagues at the loss of this courageous soldier; our thoughts and prayers are with them."
Since the start of operations in 2001, 188 British service personnel have died. Many of the deaths this month have come from roadside bombs, prompting criticism that Britain lacks helicopters to transport troops so they can avoid roads and the threat of mines.