Former army chief: We left Afghanistan too soon

The last week has seen a surge in Taliban attacks which has increased concerns about security in Afghanistan.

Foreign ministers from the NATO member countries are meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, with the future of Afghanistan one of the main subjects of discussion. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, will be at the talks.

General Sir Mike Jackson, former head of the British army, told Today's Mishal Husain he would have liked the British army to have stayed "a little longer" in Afghanistan.

He said “I hope never that the Taliban will be in the position where they can overthrow the elected government of Afghanistan.”

"Afghanistan is not a military problem per se, the root of it is political. It seems to me there can only be, in the longer term, a political outcome."

First broadcast on Today programme 2 December 2014.