Amid fears of swinging military cutbacks planned by the British government, the U.S.'s top commander in Afghanistan on Friday lavished praise on U.K. forces fighting there, saying they were key to bringing peace to the war-wracked country.
"(British forces') performance in southern Afghanistan has been particularly important," said Gen. David Petraeus, who is also NATO's commander in Afghanistan.
"In every instance your forces have performed magnificently," Petraeus said in a praise-laden speech at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. "For almost a decade … (the British) have consistently been most impressive and it has been an honor to serve with them."
Petraeus said he was confident that Britain would not scale back its presence in Afghanistan.
"I have repeatedly received assurances that support for Afghanistan is ironclad, that it is ring-fenced, if you will," he added.
The U.K. maintains around 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the U.S. making up the lion's share of NATO's 143,000-strong International Security Assistance Force, known as the ISAF.
Ballooning U.K. deficit
Petraeus' comments come amid rising concerns that planned government cutbacks may affect the level of the U.K.'s commitment as it struggles to contain a ballooning deficit.
Britain's Treasury has been pressing for a 10 percent cut to the 37 billion pound ($59 billion) defense budget, raising fears that the effort in Afghanistan will be compromised.
The planned reductions — due to be finalized in a defense-spending review next week — have made many among Britain's armed forces and its allies nervous.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an interview that she was worried by the planned cutbacks.
Clinton told the BBC that NATO must be "maintained", because it was the "most successful" defensive alliance "in the history of the world."
"We face new and different threats. Of course there are cuts that we're making but then there are new responsibilities, like cyber security or missile defense, that we're going to have to assume," Clinton told the BBC.
This year, the Netherlands became the first NATO country to end its combat mission in Afghanistan. Canada has also announced that it will withdraw its 2,700 troops in 2011 and Poland said it would pull out in 2012.
Some observers say the move could put pressure on other European governments such as Germany and Britain to scale back their forces, adding to the burden shouldered by the United States.
Talks with the Taliban
During his speech, Petraeus also said foreign forces had "facilitated" passage of an insurgent leader to talks with the government of President Hamid Karzai.
"Several very senior Taliban leaders have reached out to the Afghan government at the highest levels and have also in some cases reached out to other countries," he said, adding that the contact was ongoing but preliminary.
He also reiterated the Afghan government's long-standing preconditions for a peace pact — that the Taliban lay down its weapons, accept Afghanistan's constitution and cut ties with international terror groups.
For years, the United States has officially opposed talks with the Taliban, which was ousted in a U.S.-led invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Taliban had said it would not enter formal negotiations unless foreign troops withdrew from the country.
'Difficult' fight
While relatively upbeat about the job facing U.S., U.K. and other forces in Afghanistan, Petraeus cautioned against expecting the country to turn "into Switzerland."
"No one should have any illusion about how difficult the fight will be," he said.
Indeed, this has been the deadliest year for international forces in Afghanistan. More than 2,020 have died since the 2001 invasion, with roadside bombs having become the insurgents' most frequently used weapon.
NATO said on Friday that two alliance soldiers died in the east and south of the country. It did not give nationalities or exact locations of the attacks.
Eight NATO troops were killed Thursday. The alliance's troop losses in Afghanistan over the past three days is 16, and at least 44 have been killed so far this month.