British force in Afghanistan was weak

LONDON (AFP) - The British task force sent into Afghan-istan's Helmand province in 2006 was badly equipped, under-manned and not strong enough to take on the Taliban, a scathing government report concluded Sunday.
In the Operations in Afgha-nistan report, the Defence Select Committee slammed senior military officers and government ministers for their lack of foresight when taking over from US troops in the region five years ago.
The committee highlighted the shortage of air power and lack of urgency in responding to the increased threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as major factors in the unexpectedly high death toll among British troops.