London:British troops are likely to be out of Iraq within a year but it is going to be years before the task is finished in Afghanistan, the head of the British armed forces said today.

Sir Jock Stirrup s comment came a week after Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, Britain s top military commander in the war-torn country, said the public should not expect a "decisive military victory" in Afghanistan.

The 58-year-old air chief marshal told The Times that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, British troops were on a "journey that never finishes".

"The 4,100 British troops are likely to be out of Iraq within a year, the Iraqis are "very close to the point when they can handle the security challenges themselves," Jock told the British daily.

"Afghanistan is going to be a longer haul. Afghanistan is a very backward country... (militarily) it s going to be some years before we finish that project," he said.

Jock said the public must change its expectations of what could be achieved. "We should avoid the use of words like win and lose in the context of Afghanistan, where 7,800 British troops are fighting Taliban insurgents.

It s not that sort of enterprise. It s about helping the Afghans make progress in bringing their country towards the modern world. That s very, very long journey where success is measured in each year looking a bit better than the one before," he added.

The aim of the mission in Afghanistan, like that in Iraq, is to "help the government there extend governance to their people and to improve their lot."
Source : PTI