When a British envoy was quoted as saying that the situation in Afghanistan was bad and getting worse, the report was brushed off by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, as "garbled". When the commander of UK troops said at the weekend that the Taliban could not be defeated, Miliband complained that his words had been twisted.
Now we are told that Afghanistan is in a "downward spiral" and there are serious doubts about the Afghan government's ability to stem the rise of the Taliban.
This latest assessment will be more difficult to dismiss because it is the conclusion of all 16 of America's intelligence agencies. They have been preparing a national intelligence estimate on Afghanistan, due to be completed later this year. US officials who have seen the conclusions of the report told the New York Times it would deliver a harsh assessment of the Bush administration's policy in Afghanistan.
It will highlight damaging levels of corruption within the government of Hamid Karzai, and the destabilising impact of the heroin trade, according to the NYT.
Is it time to admit that the current strategy in Afghanistan is failing?
