British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Saturday insisted that he "agreed with every word" Army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt had said in a radio interview about the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Blair, however, pointedly refused to discuss another interview Sir Richard gave in the Daily Mail where he said British troops were "exacerbating" tensions.
The comments in the newspaper have been seen as an unprecedented broadside against government policy, and the general has been forced to play down any rift.
Earlier in the day, the general insisted the UK will not "surrender" in Iraq -- despite calling for troops to be pulled out "sometime soon".
Britain's most senior soldier sparked a storm with an interview in which he said the presence of coalition forces was "exacerbating" the problems there.
It was seen as an unprecedented broadside against government policy but the general was forced to deny any rift.
In a statement, he said: "I'm a soldier -- we don't surrender, we don't pull down white flags. We will remain in southern Iraq until the job is done -- we're going to see this through. We have been in southern Iraq for three and a half years and we have made significant progress, with two of the four provinces now handed over to Iraqi control and our responsibilities are much reduced in one other province."
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