Liam Fox: Why the Conservatives say we must stay on in Afghanistan
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
It has not been an easy week for British troops in Afghanistan. Two soldiers were killed by improvised explosive devices, which cause more than 80 per cent of our fatalities in Afghanistan. Five more were killed when an Afghan policeman opened fire on his British mentors.
Gordon Brown's speech on Friday was supposed to provide clarity to our mission in Afghanistan, but has done the opposite. On the one hand, we are told that our presence in Afghanistan is vital for our security and safety at home. On the other, we are told that we will not "put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up against corruption". If our mission in Afghanistan is a national security imperative, it cannot be conditional on the behaviour of others. Our troops are not fighting and dying in Afghanistan for Karzai's Government, nor should they ever be. Gordon Brown needs to understand this. Our troops are there for our security at home. Yesterday's attempt at clarification makes a bad situation worse if the Prime Minister was seriously suggesting that, with our troops involved in a vital international mission there, he will no longer recognise the government of Afghanistan.
However, this isn't to say that tackling corruption and establishing good governance isn't important. However, we need to recognise that Afghan governance is likely to look very different from governance as we know it in the West. Eighty per cent of Afghanistan's population lives in rural areas where Kabul's writ is largely nonexistent. Consequently, the main focus of improving governance should be directed at the provincial, district and village levels, at the level that can directly impact on the needs of the population. We must take a bottom up approach.
Let us make no mistake: we are engaged in a crucial struggle in Afghanistan. It is a national security imperative. A comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan must include clear, tightly-drawn, realistic objectives that are regularly reviewed; more rapid development of the Afghan security forces; and ensuring that the gains won by British forces on the battlefield are swiftly followed by reconstruction.
A month ago Gordon Brown said that 500 additional troops may be sent to Afghanistan based on "clear military advice from our chiefs of staff and our commanders on the ground on implementing our strategy and reducing the risk to our forces". To have 500 troops which are trained, equipped, and ready to go simply sitting in a barracks when the Prime Minister said our troops would get what they need to do the job sends a confusing message and shows indecision. Even if Gordon Brown approved the deployment of these troops tomorrow, it would still take weeks to get them to the frontline.
The same people who are calling for the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan are usually the same people who have criticised the West for neglecting Afghanistan after the fall of the Soviet Union. This, of course, led to the rise of the Taliban, the sanctuary of al-Qa'ida, and the attacks of 9/11. Leaving Afghanistan then was the root of our problems today. Leaving Afghanistan today will be the source of our problems tomorrow.
There are no cost-free options. Premature withdrawal will be seen as a victory for every jihadist around the globe and will have profound implications for our national security and the cohesion of Nato, which is why I think The Independent on Sunday is sadly mistaken.
This is not the time to go wobbly in Whitehall. We need leadership, a vision, and decisiveness that only a new Conservative government under David Cameron can provide.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
We are, once again, propping up a corrupt government while hoping that there will be a miracle and local army training will allow us to leave before we're pushed out by attrition. We kill the innocent and provoke retaliation in a misguided attempt to fight Pashtun tribes with no historical interest in Al Quaida. The sources of AlQuaida - Pakistan, Saudi, perhaps Somalia - are untouched. Let's ask the logical question: if the aim is to 'tame' Afghanistan, if we actually succeed in that aim, how long will it take before it reverts? Does anyone think that we will earn enduring thanks from anyone except Hamid Karzai's dearest friends? So will it ever be safe to leave? Or is Liam Fox, like Gordon Brown, just hoping for a face-saving moment when he can claim that it's "mission accomplished"?
Many people now think this mission is fatally flawed and we need an exit strategy. The Tories are obviously proposing we continue to stumble along the ppath to eventual disaster.
War is never as easy as it seems when first declared, and should never be entered into lightly. Iraq, which the Tories embraced only too readily and enthusiastically, is now acknowledged as a huge mistake. And the truth about Afghanistan being a conflict too far is also dawning. The strategy surrounding the so-called "war on terror" was fatally flawed from the start. It never addressed the real underlying issues that breed terrorist groups.
When in a hole, stop digging. If you come to power next year and continue with this flawed policy, Mr Fox, your government and the British people will suffer. Our troops are fighting and dying for a policy that's doomed to failure. It's time to bring the troops home. You would do well to prepare an exit strategy before it's too late.
You cannot get away with this. The Tories have rightly accused Labour and particularly Brown of gross underfunding of the British Armed Forces. This is not just as a result of the current financial debacle but ever since Brown became Chancellor. The man made no attempt to change matters when his mate Tony began wars all over the planet, result, poorly equiped over stretch soldiers.
We dont have to loose in Afghanistan, we need to follow the stratergy which intelligent military people have devoloped over many years. Currently we follow cut price parsimony from a PM and party that will waste billions on matters they think will buy Labour votes, but cost the blood of British soldiers.
If Cameron will not rectify this shame, when and if he is elected, then he to should pull the boys out.
The rise of the Taliban was encouraged by the USA and they were armed by the West (funded by Saudi rabia) in order to provide another cold war front against the Soviet Union. The enemy of my enemy is my friend!
With the continued connivence of the UK government UK soldiers are now reaping the results of this narrow minded and short sighted policy. Whilst a labour government took us into this quackmire, Liam Fox shows that a future conservative government is hellbent in drawing us in further still.