AS Sergeant Phillip Scott, from North Yorkshire, is named as the latest soldier to die in Afghanistan, we find it increasingly difficult to go on arguing that our troops should not be brought home.

It has been our consistent view that it would be wrong to pull out of Afghanistan while the task we began is incomplete.

Our concerns are that withdrawal would lead to Afghanistan and Pakistan descending into unthinkable bloodshed, and that terrorism would flourish so freely that the impact would surely be felt on these shores.

In addition, we fear it would be disrespectful to those who have died trying to stabilise Afghanistan.

That remains our view, but we admit to finding ourselves increasingly torn. Events of the past week – the mounting death toll and the presidential election fiasco – make it harder to sustain the argument in favour of our troops continuing to support a fledgling democracy.

Most of all, we want to support our troops who are doing an unbelievable job. But how long do we go on saying that they must plough on? One year?

Five years? Ten years?

There has to come a point at which we say our objectives cannot be met.

It is three weeks since Gordon Brown agreed to send 500 more soldiers to the frontline as desperatelyneeded reinforcements.

We welcomed that announcement as a necessary surge, involving Britain and its Nato allies, towards accelerating an exit strategy.

The fact that those reinforcements are still not in place leaves the Government open to accusations of dithering at a time when the country is crying out for decisive action.