Defending Britain's mission in Afghanistan against waning public support, Brown admitted the government in Kabul had become a "by-word for corruption" -- and also pressed for more Afghan troops to bare the brunt of frontline action.

He said he had spoken to the president, whose re-election was confirmed this week, several times in recent days and urged him to make progress on five key issues, from security to governance and economic development.

"If the government fails to meet these five tests, it will not only have failed its own people, it will have forfeited its right to international support," Brown said in a speech in London.

Puppet, dance!


_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}