British Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, has said that British troops will be amongst the last to leave Afghanistan.
Both the United States and Canada have said that they will start bringing home their forces from next year, but Fox has said that British troops are unlikely to be in that first wave.
On a visit to Washington, Fox said: “The bottom line is that because we’re in one of the most difficult parts of Afghanistan – sometimes we think that’s the only part of Afghanistan – the likelihood is that will be one of the last parts to transition to Afghan security.”
Most British troops are situated in Helmand Province in the south, the most dangerous part of Afghanistan, whereas the US has a large presence in the relatively safe Kunduz Province in the north after the useless German Army proved ineffective in that area.
Liam Fox: British troops will be last to leave Afghanistan
By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
30 Jun 2010
The Telegraph
British troops will be among the last international forces to leave Afghanistan, Liam Fox has said, playing down hopes of an early withdrawal.
Dr Fox’s remarks come after David Cameron raised the prospect of a swift end to the mission in Afghanistan.
But the defence secretary moved to lower expectations by saying that Helmand province, where most British troops are based, will be one of the last areas where Afghan forces can provide security without Nato support.
Dr Fox’s remarks come days after the Daily Telegraph revealed the tensions between him and the Prime Minister over the way in which the defence secretary announced the early retirement of Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff.
Britain has 10,000 troops in Afghanistan and has lost more than 300 lives. Polls say voters are increasingly in favour of an early withdrawal.
The Prime Minister has signalled his determination to bring British forces home as soon as possible, insisting that troops will be withdrawn before the next general election, due in 2015.
British troops will be amongst the last to leave Afghanistan
The US has said it wants to start withdrawing troops as early as next July, and Mr Cameron has backed that timetable. Other Nato members including Canada have said they want to withdrawing forces next year.
But on a visit to Washington, Dr Fox made clear that Britain would be unlikely to be in the first wave of handovers to Afghan control.
Dr Fox told the BBC: “The bottom line is that because we’re in one of the most difficult parts of Afghanistan – sometimes we think that’s the only part of Afghanistan – the likelihood is that will be one of the last parts to transition to Afghan security.”
Government sources said that the US might be able to start withdrawing troops next
year from relatively safe and stable provinces like Kunduz in northern Afghanistan.
But in the most violent and unstable provinces – especially Helmand, in southern Afghanistan – the transition to Afghan control could take much longer.
In a speech to a Washington think-tank, Dr Fox said that politicians and voters in Nato countries must “hold our nerve” and resist the temptation to end the Afghan mission too early.
"We must hold our nerve, maintain our resolve, and have the resilience to see the job through.,” he said.
"Were we to leave prematurely, without degrading the insurgency and increasing the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces, we could see the return of the destructive forces of transnational terror,"
There have been 309 British military deaths in Afghanistan so far. Here are the stats:
Cause of death
Hostile: 258
Accident: 30
Friendly fire: 5
Suicide: 2
Other: 14
Age
19 and under: 31
20-29: 205
30-39: 55
40+: 15
Not released: 3
Service
Army: 248
Royal Marines: 44
RAF: 17
Royal Navy: 0
Rank
Officers: 26
Other ranks: 278
Not released: 3
Gender
Male: 308
Female: 1
Part of the UK of those killed
England: 267
Scotland: 23
Wales: 15
Nothern Ireland: 4
Dr Fox insisted that he and Mr Cameron are united in his approach to Afghanistan.
He said: “What the prime minister was saying that we want to be able to transition to Afghan authority as soon as we can. We’re not there as colonisers we’re not there to govern the country for them.
He added: “We want government of Afghanistan by the Afghans for the Afghans. But we have to ensure that when we leave, we do not leave behind a security vacuum into which the forces of terror can be drawn again.”
A Downing Street spokesman also rejected any suggestion that Mr Cameron and Dr Fox were at odds over the strategy on Afghanistan, saying there was "no difference" between the two.
telegraph.co.uk
Both the United States and Canada have said that they will start bringing home their forces from next year, but Fox has said that British troops are unlikely to be in that first wave.
On a visit to Washington, Fox said: “The bottom line is that because we’re in one of the most difficult parts of Afghanistan – sometimes we think that’s the only part of Afghanistan – the likelihood is that will be one of the last parts to transition to Afghan security.”
Most British troops are situated in Helmand Province in the south, the most dangerous part of Afghanistan, whereas the US has a large presence in the relatively safe Kunduz Province in the north after the useless German Army proved ineffective in that area.
Liam Fox: British troops will be last to leave Afghanistan
By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
30 Jun 2010
The Telegraph
British troops will be among the last international forces to leave Afghanistan, Liam Fox has said, playing down hopes of an early withdrawal.
Dr Fox’s remarks come after David Cameron raised the prospect of a swift end to the mission in Afghanistan.
But the defence secretary moved to lower expectations by saying that Helmand province, where most British troops are based, will be one of the last areas where Afghan forces can provide security without Nato support.
Dr Fox’s remarks come days after the Daily Telegraph revealed the tensions between him and the Prime Minister over the way in which the defence secretary announced the early retirement of Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff.
Britain has 10,000 troops in Afghanistan and has lost more than 300 lives. Polls say voters are increasingly in favour of an early withdrawal.
The Prime Minister has signalled his determination to bring British forces home as soon as possible, insisting that troops will be withdrawn before the next general election, due in 2015.
British troops will be amongst the last to leave Afghanistan
The US has said it wants to start withdrawing troops as early as next July, and Mr Cameron has backed that timetable. Other Nato members including Canada have said they want to withdrawing forces next year.
But on a visit to Washington, Dr Fox made clear that Britain would be unlikely to be in the first wave of handovers to Afghan control.
Dr Fox told the BBC: “The bottom line is that because we’re in one of the most difficult parts of Afghanistan – sometimes we think that’s the only part of Afghanistan – the likelihood is that will be one of the last parts to transition to Afghan security.”
Government sources said that the US might be able to start withdrawing troops next
year from relatively safe and stable provinces like Kunduz in northern Afghanistan.
But in the most violent and unstable provinces – especially Helmand, in southern Afghanistan – the transition to Afghan control could take much longer.
In a speech to a Washington think-tank, Dr Fox said that politicians and voters in Nato countries must “hold our nerve” and resist the temptation to end the Afghan mission too early.
"We must hold our nerve, maintain our resolve, and have the resilience to see the job through.,” he said.
"Were we to leave prematurely, without degrading the insurgency and increasing the capability of the Afghan National Security Forces, we could see the return of the destructive forces of transnational terror,"
There have been 309 British military deaths in Afghanistan so far. Here are the stats:
Cause of death
Hostile: 258
Accident: 30
Friendly fire: 5
Suicide: 2
Other: 14
Age
19 and under: 31
20-29: 205
30-39: 55
40+: 15
Not released: 3
Service
Army: 248
Royal Marines: 44
RAF: 17
Royal Navy: 0
Rank
Officers: 26
Other ranks: 278
Not released: 3
Gender
Male: 308
Female: 1
Part of the UK of those killed
England: 267
Scotland: 23
Wales: 15
Nothern Ireland: 4
Dr Fox insisted that he and Mr Cameron are united in his approach to Afghanistan.
He said: “What the prime minister was saying that we want to be able to transition to Afghan authority as soon as we can. We’re not there as colonisers we’re not there to govern the country for them.
He added: “We want government of Afghanistan by the Afghans for the Afghans. But we have to ensure that when we leave, we do not leave behind a security vacuum into which the forces of terror can be drawn again.”
A Downing Street spokesman also rejected any suggestion that Mr Cameron and Dr Fox were at odds over the strategy on Afghanistan, saying there was "no difference" between the two.
telegraph.co.uk
