Pentagon chief in UK to discuss Afghanistan, Iraq

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in London today for talks to discuss future policy in Afghanistan and Iraq on his first visit to Britain since he took office last month.

Gates' trip comes four days after US President George W Bush said he would increase the number of US troops in Iraq from about 130,000 to more than 150,000 as part of a new plan to tackle spiralling sectarian violence and insurgent attacks.

Gates will hold talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair before meeting and having dinner with Defence Minister Des Browne.

''My first priority is making sure that we preserve the gains that we've achieved in Afghanistan and then talking about the way forward in Iraq,'' Gates told reporters on his plane to London.

Britain, America's closest ally in the Iraq war, has said it supports Bush's new strategy on Iraq. But it does not plan to add to its contingent of some 7,100 troops in Iraq, based in the Shi'ite-dominated south.

British and US troops also form part of a NATO-led force in Afghanistan battling resurgent Taliban militants.

Gates expressed concern on Friday about Afghanistan and said he would visit the country in the next few days, seeking ways to strengthen the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Bush asked Gates, a former CIA chief, to replace Donald Rumsfeld after the president's Republican party lost control of the US Congress in November elections. The defeat was driven in large measure by voter anger over the Iraq war.

Reuters AB VP0038