"The comments attributed to Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles were included in a diplomatic dispatch from a French diplomat in Kabul published by the French weekly, Le Canard Enchaîné, which combines investigative journalism and satire.

"Reporting on a meeting on September 2, the French diplomat, Jean-François Fitou, quoted Cowper-Coles as saying: 'The American strategy is destined to fail.'

" 'The coalition presence - particularly the military presence - is part of the problem, not the solution, Cowper-Coles is quoted as saying. More Nato troops would have "a perverse effect".

"It would identify us even more clearly as an occupying force and multiply the number of targets [by insurgents]."

"According to the published memo, he also says the elected Afghan government of Hamid Karzai had lost all trust, and that it would be a "positive thing" if in five to 10 years, after the departure of British troops, the country was governed by "an acceptable dictator".

"British officials have expressed deep concern over the security situation in Afghanistan, and have clashed with the US over elements of policy, such as counter-narcotics. The leaked memo has emerged at a time of deepening gloom over the security situation in Afghanistan. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said it had "deteriorated markedly" over the past six months, and pointed to the increasing attacks on aid workers. At least 30 have been killed so far this year."

It looks as if the Brits are warning the British people about being dragged into another quagmire like Iraq as they were under former prime minister, Tony Blair, Bush's poodle and right wing gazillionaire Rupert Murdoch's pal.