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Brown: Britain 'will not walk away' from Afghan mission
6 Nov 2009
Britain cannot afford to "walk away" from the mission in Afghanistan if it is to prevent future al Qaida attacks on the streets of the UK, Gordon Brown will warn today.
The Prime Minister will use a keynote speech to reaffirm the Government's commitment to the Afghan campaign following the losses of recent days - including five soldiers killed by an Afghan policeman they had been helping to train.
He will stress the need to continue with the policy of mentoring the Afghan security forces, arguing that it is what distinguishes the international military presence from "an army of occupation".
His latest intervention comes amid concerns in Whitehall that public and political support for the Afghan mission is beginning to crumble in the face of the continuing losses. The latest casualty, killed in an explosion in Helmand province yesterday, is set to be named by the Ministry of Defence later.
Peers including former Chiefs of the Defence Staff Lord Boyce and Lord Craig of Radley are also due to debate the condition of the armed forces in the Upper House this morning.
In his speech, Mr Brown will again attempt to drive home the message that the military campaign is inextricably linked to the national security of the UK, with terrorists continuing to plot attacks from the region.
"We will not be deterred, dissuaded or diverted from taking whatever measures are necessary to protect our security," he will say, according to advance extracts released by No 10.
"When the main terrorist threat facing Britain emanates from Afghanistan and Pakistan; and when, although the sustained pressure in Pakistan, combined with military action in Afghanistan, is having a suppressive effect on al Qaida, we know that they continue to train and plot attacks on Britain from the region - we can not, must not and will not walk away."
His comments are a direct refutation of the argument by the former foreign office minister Kim Howells that Britain would be better off withdrawing its troops and diverting the resources to strengthening internal security.
The Prime Minister will strongly defend the policy of British troops working alongside the Afghans to build up their security forces in the wake of concerns raised by this week's lethal attack by an Afghan policeman.
"We will not give up this strategy of mentoring, because it is what distinguishes a liberating army from an army of occupation," he will say.
Mr Brown will also use the speech to issue a rallying call to the other members of the international coalition in Afghanistan, urging them not to give up on the mission.
"We entered together eight years ago. We must persist together, in our different ways we must all contribute, in the end we will succeed or fail together."
And he will deliver a tough message to President Hamid Karzai following his controversial re-election in a poll overshadowed by allegations of widespread fraud and ballot-rigging.
"He needs a contract with the Afghan people; a contract against which Afghans, as well as the international community, can judge his success," he will say.
He will warn that continued international support depends on "the scale of his ambition and the degree of his achievement" in the key areas of security, governance, reconciliation, economic development, and engagement with Afghanistan's neighbours.
The Afghan army should grow from its current strength of around 80,000 to more than 130,000 by the end of 2010, Mr Brown is to say.
With the annual Remembrance Day commemorations approaching, the Prime Minister will say that the bravery and sacrifice of British troops serving in Afghanistan will not be forgotten.
"Just as in the past we learned of the bravery and sacrifice of British soldiers in the First and Second World Wars; in their fight to protect freedom both in our nation and the world; so our children will learn of the heroism of today's men and women fighting in Afghanistan - protecting our nation and the rest of the world from the threat of global terrorism," he will say.
Reader views (6)
If the threat is as bad as Brown or the other muppets say it is then... why don't we stop pussy footing around and go for it with real heart. Hit the enemy from the streets, air, sea and get it over with! Yes there will be innocent casualties but was this ever a factor when we were fighting in the great wars?!
- Sanjay, Hounslow, UK, 06/11/2009 16:27
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Painful as it seems, Gordon Brown is proably right for the very reasons he gave. We should never have gone in Afghanistan in the first place, but now we“re stuck with it. We cannot do a "chicken run", we have to finish the job properly or our boys will have died for nothing and the Taliban and al-Qaeda will have won. Surely, that cannot be what we want.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 06/11/2009 15:33
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I hope "not walking away" doesnt mean RUNNING AWAY.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, Hants, 06/11/2009 11:20
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It is patently obvious that Gormless Brown has totally lost the plot - assuming that the parasite even knew what the plot involved in the first place.
230 British service men and women killed.
What for?
Nothing.
- Reuben Camara, Plot 1, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR, 06/11/2009 09:07
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McMitty is correct - we shall NOT "walk away" from Afghanistan. We shall, however, in the fullness of time, and after suffering several hundred more deaths of brave British troops, be kicked out when the USA (or our European "friends") finally pull the plug on this lunatic adventure.
- Ted, London, 06/11/2009 07:56
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Britain 'will not walk away' from Afghan mission. If we had any sense we would run.
- Frederick, London, 06/11/2009 07:41
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