From the Journal Gazette

LONDON – Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday that Afghanistan’s government is corrupt and he will not risk more British lives there unless it reforms.
Brown said in a speech that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had assured him "that the first priority of his new government would be to take decisive action against corruption."
He said the government of Afghanistan has become a by-word for corruption, "and I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm’s way for a government that does not stand up against corruption."
Britain has promised to send 500 more troops to Afghanistan. But Brown said it was dependent upon progress in governance.
Seven British soldiers have died in Afghanistan in the past week, including five shot by an Afghan police officer.
Despite increasing doubt over the country’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan, Brown links military action there to safety on Britain’s streets.
"We will not be deterred, dissuaded or diverted from taking whatever measures are necessary to protect our security," Brown said.
"When the main terrorist threat facing Britain emanates from Afghanistan and Pakistan; and when, although the sustained pressure in Pakistan, combined with military action in Afghanistan, is having a suppressive effect on al-Qaida, we know that they continue to train and plot attacks on Britain from the region – we cannot, must not and will not walk away."
Britain currently has about 9,000 troops in the country, the majority in the restive southern Helmand province. The force is the second-largest foreign one in the country after the United States, and Brown recently announced an increase of about 500 soldiers.