More troops are needed for a year-long push to defeat the Taleban, the British general in charge of Nato forces in Afghanistan has said.
Gen David Richards, in an interview with the Guardian, praised the "brave" fighting with "less troops than needed" that had frustrated the Taleban.
It should not be assumed troops could "keep getting away with it", he told the newspaper.
The Ministry of Defence said it kept its contribution under constant review.
"We must apply ourselves more energetically for one more year in order to win"
The 32,000-strong Nato force includes about 6,000 UK troops.
Gen Richards said the achievement of troops in frustrating the Taleban's winter campaign was "against the odds" and was a result of some "exceptionally skilled and brave fighting by the soldiers of many nations".
"But all this has been achieved with less troops than are really needed and I am concerned that Nato nations will assume the same level of risk in 2007 believing they can get away with it," he told the Guardian.
"They might, but it's a dangerous assumption to believe the same ingredients will exist this year as they did last."
"We keep our contribution under constant review and will make further adjustments, in discussion with Nato, if they are required"
A stabilised situation was "not a good enough aim", he added.
Instead, the Nato forces "should and can win in Afghanistan".
Military commanders must be given more money to "orchestrate the overall campaign, certainly while serious fighting continues", Gen Richards said.
'More energy'
"We need to put more military effort into the country," he added.
"We must apply ourselves more energetically for one more year in order to win."
"Military effort alone" was not enough to win the battle, Gen Richards said.
"Our civilian partners must improve the speed and scale of their reconstruction and development effort, sufficient to keep pace with the people's expectations," he added.
He added that he would not "conceal our frustration" with the speed of the DfID's (Department for International Development) delivery on the ground as well as "an occasional reluctance to join with us as necessary planning partners".
The DfID responded that insecurity caused by the fighting in Helmand last summer "made it extremely difficult" for DfID and potential development partners to work.
"Now with improved security, work is progressing at a faster pace, with over 100 quick impact projects either completed, under way, or approved to start in Helmand, thanks to £5m of UK funding," a DfID spokesman said.
"This effort [to stop opium production] will succeed - it must"
He added that the DfID has also committed £30m to help the government of Afghanistan to improve the lives of poor farmers in Helmand.
In the Guardian article, Gen Richard also called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to speed up his efforts to root out corruption in the country.
And he said plans to stop the production of opium poppies, the source of much of the UK's heroin, were complicated by controversy and disagreement.
"This effort will succeed - it must - but it will take many years and needs much more effort yet," he said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said UK troops were operating as part of a Nato mission.
"Overall force levels are ultimately an issue for NATO commanders," he said.
"However, we keep our contribution under constant review and will make further adjustments, in discussion with Nato, if they are required."
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