The war in Afghanistan will die down next year and British troops could be withdrawn within five years, the head of the army said in a newspaper interview Saturday.

General Sir David Richards told that coalition forces had reached a “turning point” in the battle against the Taliban, thanks to a major allied offensive on an insurgent-held area of southern Afghanistan.
He said the current 10,000-strong British force could be reduced as early as next year, with the majority to be pulled out within the next five years.
“We expect the military conflict to trail off in 2011. The combat role will start to decline in 2011, but we will remain militarily engaged in training and support roles for another five years, and we will remain in a support role for many years to come,” he told.
Just seven months ago, Richards had warned that Britain could be involved in Afghanistan for up to 40 years.
He said he was seeing some “very optimistic signs” from Operation Mushtarak, conducted by US, British, Canadian and other NATO troops alongside Afghan forces, aimed at returning the town of Marjah to government control.
The Taliban were on the back foot as a result of the offensive, he said.
“A year ago they thought they had us on the run. But now the tables have been turned.