U.S. defense secretary discusses troop plan with British counterpart

~ Robert Gates is headed to Afghanistan where the United States has at least 20,000 troops.

LONDON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Britain's contributions to the U.S.-led military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan as he embarked Sunday on his second overseas trip since taking over at the Pentagon last month.

Gates met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and later with Des Browne, the British defense secretary, to discuss President Bush's new approach in Iraq and Britain's plan to withdraw troops from southern Iraq.

"Britain is our most important international partner in both Iraq and Afghanistan," Gates said in brief remarks to reporters at historic Lancaster House, with Browne at his side. Both men expressed condolences to the families of two British soldiers killed over the weekend -- one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.

In their public remarks neither Browne nor Gates mentioned pending British troop reductions in Iraq, and they took no questions from reporters before heading to a dinner of Scottish beef and smoked trout.

Gates departed Washington after a week in which Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq encountered a wave of skepticism in Congress and evoked no more than a tepid response in allied capitals.

Britain, which has been Washington's foremost ally on Iraq, has plans to withdraw some of its 7,000 troops in Shiite-dominated Basra, in southern Iraq, and to transition control of that area to the Iraqis.

In brief remarks to reporters traveling with him, Gates said he wanted to hear Britain's views on the way ahead in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.

Preserving the gains

"My first priority is making sure that we preserve the gains that we achieved in Afghanistan, and then talking about the way forward in Iraq," he said.

Gates said he would be traveling to Afghanistan "in a few days."

A senior official on Gates' flight to London said the defense secretary wanted to consult with Afghan officials and U.S. commanders there to see if they had adequate resources at a time when some fear that Afghanistan is in danger of reverting to a haven for terrorists.

The United States has at least 20,000 troops in Afghanistan and is turning over command of the counterinsurgency mission to the NATO alliance. The U.S. focus is shifting more to counterterrorism, while training the Afghan army.

The U.S. official, who spoke under ground rules that prohibit reporters from identifying him, said U.S. and allied military commanders in Afghanistan have detected signs that the Taliban, whose forces were resurgent in 2006, are preparing a renewed offensive soon. They typically are less active in winter.

"We have some information that they are planning a spring offensive and [we] want to make sure we are prepared to take that on," the official said. The Taliban apparently believe they have an opportunity in coming months to build on the gains they made last year, particularly in southern Afghanistan.

The official also said Gates would travel soon to the Persian Gulf area, including southern Iraq, where British forces have been operating since the war began in 2003.

Gates has identified Afghanistan as one of his chief priorities and biggest worries. At his ceremonial swearing-in ceremony Dec. 18, he said the gains against the Taliban since 2001 are "at risk."

He also told the Senate committee in written testimony that the Taliban is resurgent in some parts of Afghanistan, compelling Washington and its allies to ensure that mistakes of the past not be repeated.

Gates mentioned the late 1980s when, after Soviet occupation forces withdrew, the United States neglected the country, setting the stage for the Taliban fundamentalist movement to take hold and eventually take power in 1996.

That is a subject of special interest to Gates, a career CIA officer and Soviet specialist who was deputy director of the spy agency from 1986 to 1989. He was CIA director from 1991 to 1993.

In a moment of introspection, Gates told reporters that he realized he was risking damage to his professional reputation by accepting Bush's request that he replace Rumsfeld at a low point in the Iraq war.

"Sure there's a risk," he said, recalling that Brent Scowcroft, who worked with Gates under the first President Bush, has been quoted as saying he thinks Gates is crazy for taking the job but is pleased that he did.

"I would hope that whatever happens, people would just say, `Well, he came in at a bad time, he did his best and it wasn't good enough.' My hope is that people will say -- the circumstances on the ground will be such that people will say -- `He came in at a bad time and actually was able to help. That's what I hope will be the outcome two years from now."