UK ex-commander says Afghanistan mission "worthless"

LONDON (Reuters) - A former British commander in Afghanistan has described the military operation in the south of the country as "worthless" and compared the campaign to the start of the Vietnam war.

Ex-SAS commander Maj. Sebastian Morley, who resigned last year in protest at the handling of the conflict, said operations were being undermined by a lack of troops and resources.

"I don't think we have even scratched the surface as far as the conflict goes," he told the Daily Telegraph in an interview published on Saturday, his first since stepping down.

"I think the level of casualties and attrition is only set to rise. This is the equivalent to the start of the Vietnam conflict, there is much more to come," he said.

"We hold tiny areas of ground in Helmand and we are kidding ourselves if we think our influence goes beyond 500 metres of our security bases," Morley said.

"We go out on operations, have a punch-up with the Taleban and then go back to camp for tea. We are not holding the ground."

In response to his comments the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Saturday described the security situation as manageable and said the influx of more U.S. troops this summer would have a major impact.

"It is true that in an area the size of Helmand there is a limit to how much ground we can hold. But that does not mean we are not making progress. We are," the MoD said in a statement.

"BLOOD ON HANDS"