Gates confident on British Afghanistan commitment

(Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that Washington would not be asking Britain to pledge more troops for Afghanistan and voiced confidence the new government in London was committed to the war.

Last month, Gates' British counterpart Liam Fox told the Times of London newspaper that the Prime Minister David Cameron's government, which took power last month, hoped to speed up the process of withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He was quoted in the paper saying Britain was "not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country."

But Gates told reporters traveling on his plane en route to Britain that he believed, based on conversations with Fox, that Cameron's government was "quite resolute with respect to Afghanistan."

"I think that with 9,500 soldiers in Afghanistan that the United Kingdom has done everything anybody could expect of it. So no, I will not be making any further requests of the UK," Gates added.

Gates later held a 40-minute meeting with Cameron.

"The Prime Minister reiterated UK support for US strategy, including the plan progressively to transition security responsibilities to the government of Afghanistan as their capacity develops," said a spokesman for his office.

"The Prime Minister and Secretary Gates also discussed Iran's nuclear program and the importance of securing early agreement on an additional package of sanctions."

Washington is sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, and has urged its NATO allies to commit additional trainers to try to speed the handover to Afghan security forces.

President Barack Obama has set the goal of starting a gradual U.S. withdrawal in July 2011, security conditions permitting.

There have been concerns in Washington about the new British government's commitment over the long term, but London has made clear it will not set a deadline for drawing down its military contribution to the NATO-led effort.

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government formed after Britain's May 6 election says its top foreign policy priority is the strategy for Afghanistan.

A total of 292 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001, when the NATO mission there began. Britain has struggled to turn the tide on the Taliban insurgency in Helmand province, where most of its troops are deployed.