- Reaction score
- 35
- Points
- 560
PM defends Afghanistan strategy
Eight British soldiers were killed
in just 24 hours last week
Gordon Brown has insisted Britain has the resources "to do the job" in Afghanistan,
amid claims troops serving there are under-equipped. The prime minister told MPs
there had been an increase in helicopter capacity since 2006 and UK forces were
the best equipped they had been in 40 years.
Tory leader David Cameron attacked the "scandal" of helicopter shortages.
UK forces in Afghanistan will also hold a memorial service later for eight men who
died in a single 24-hour period. Tributes will be paid at Camp Bastion, a day after
it emerged that three of those killed on Friday were just 18.
'Very difficult'
Five of those who died on Friday were members of the County Down-based 2nd
Battalion The Rifles. They were: Cpl Jonathan Horne, and Riflemen Joseph Murphy,
Daniel Simpson, William Aldridge and James Backhouse.
The sixth was Cpl Lee Scott, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. In the same 24 hours
- the bloodiest since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 - Rifleman Daniel
Hume, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, and Pte John Brackpool, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards,
also died.
In a Commons statement Mr Brown told MPs: "It has been a very difficult summer and
it is not over yet but if we are to deny Helmand to the Taliban in the long term, if we
are to defeat this vicious insurgency, and by doing so make Britain and the world a
safer place, then we must persist with our operations in Afghanistan." But he added:
"I am confident that we are right to be in Afghanistan, that we have the strongest
possible plan and we have the resources needed to do the job."
'Scandal'
The Tories have accused the government of the "ultimate dereliction of duty" in under-
equipping the armed forces.
In his statement, Mr Brown said troop levels were kept under review but he had been
assured by commanders on the ground, and top level military chiefs, that they had the
manpower needed "for the current operations". He said he had urged Afghanistan's
president Hamid Karzai to make more Afghan personnel available, to help hold ground
secured by forces in Helmand. Funding for operations in Afghanistan had increased
from £700m in 2006-7 to more than £3bn this year, he said.
"The chancellor has made clear that all operational requirements will be met," he said.
Helicopter numbers had increased by 60% in the past two years and, by increasing
crews and equipment their capability - or flying hours - had increased by 84%, he said.
More equipment, including Merlin helicopters and Ridgeback armoured vehicles, were
being brought in. "As the chief of the defence staff has said, the British armed forces
are better equipped today than they have been at any time in 40 years but we are not
complacent," he said.
'Realistic' strategy
He said the government would "continue to give safety the highest priority" and said he
had been assured Operation Panther's Claw was having a "major impact on the Taliban".
All party leaders paid tribute to those killed in recent days - Mr Brown said Britain owed
them a "huge debt of gratitude".
Conservative leader David Cameron said more needed to be done to set out a "tightly
defined, hard headed and realistic" strategy. He pressed the prime minister on whether
he had turned down a military request for an extra 2,000 troops. And he said while
Mr Brown had said helicopter capacity had increased since 2006 the "real point" was
that the number of troops had doubled since then. "So proportionately there hasn't
really been an increase in helicopter capacity at all," he said.
"Do you regret the £1.4bn cut in the helicopter programme that you as the chancellor
of the exchequer pushed through in 2004?"
At a press conference earlier Mr Cameron said the government must ensure troops
had the right equipment adding: "It's a scandal in particular that they still lack enough
helicopters to move around in Afghanistan." He said other Nato countries should fulfil
their commitments, arguing that the government needed to "really hold their feet to
the fire" and "beg, borrow or frankly steal the helicopters that are necessary".
'Very grateful'
A poll carried out for the BBC and the Guardian suggests public opinion is split over
the UK's mission in Afghanistan. Of 1,000 people questioned, 47% said they opposed
the British operation, while 46% said they supported it. However in 2006 only 31%
of those polled gave their support.
The spokesman for the task force in Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson,
said: "The soldiers are very grateful for that support. It gives us a buoyant and a
reassuring feeling." During Bob Ainsworth's first Commons questions as defence
secretary, his Tory shadow Liam Fox said the public did not understand "why we're
not doing everything we can to reduce the risks to our forces". Mr Fox added: "If
we cannot move our forces by air, they are more vulnerable on the ground."
Mr Ainsworth said the government was planning to invest £6bn on helicopters over
the coming years. But he added: "The changes in the way in which the operations
are being conducted leads to more ground operations and these cannot be conducted
from helicopters."
UK troops are on an offensive designed to increase security ahead of Afghan elections
next month. But the surge has brought a big increase in casualties, with 15 servicemen
killed in the first 10 days of the month. It means 184 service personnel have now died
in Afghanistan since 2001, more than the 179 who were killed during the war in Iraq.
Among those killed were three 18 year olds.
Eight British soldiers were killed
in just 24 hours last week
Gordon Brown has insisted Britain has the resources "to do the job" in Afghanistan,
amid claims troops serving there are under-equipped. The prime minister told MPs
there had been an increase in helicopter capacity since 2006 and UK forces were
the best equipped they had been in 40 years.
Tory leader David Cameron attacked the "scandal" of helicopter shortages.
UK forces in Afghanistan will also hold a memorial service later for eight men who
died in a single 24-hour period. Tributes will be paid at Camp Bastion, a day after
it emerged that three of those killed on Friday were just 18.
'Very difficult'
Five of those who died on Friday were members of the County Down-based 2nd
Battalion The Rifles. They were: Cpl Jonathan Horne, and Riflemen Joseph Murphy,
Daniel Simpson, William Aldridge and James Backhouse.
The sixth was Cpl Lee Scott, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. In the same 24 hours
- the bloodiest since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 - Rifleman Daniel
Hume, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, and Pte John Brackpool, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards,
also died.
In a Commons statement Mr Brown told MPs: "It has been a very difficult summer and
it is not over yet but if we are to deny Helmand to the Taliban in the long term, if we
are to defeat this vicious insurgency, and by doing so make Britain and the world a
safer place, then we must persist with our operations in Afghanistan." But he added:
"I am confident that we are right to be in Afghanistan, that we have the strongest
possible plan and we have the resources needed to do the job."
'Scandal'
The Tories have accused the government of the "ultimate dereliction of duty" in under-
equipping the armed forces.
In his statement, Mr Brown said troop levels were kept under review but he had been
assured by commanders on the ground, and top level military chiefs, that they had the
manpower needed "for the current operations". He said he had urged Afghanistan's
president Hamid Karzai to make more Afghan personnel available, to help hold ground
secured by forces in Helmand. Funding for operations in Afghanistan had increased
from £700m in 2006-7 to more than £3bn this year, he said.
"The chancellor has made clear that all operational requirements will be met," he said.
Helicopter numbers had increased by 60% in the past two years and, by increasing
crews and equipment their capability - or flying hours - had increased by 84%, he said.
More equipment, including Merlin helicopters and Ridgeback armoured vehicles, were
being brought in. "As the chief of the defence staff has said, the British armed forces
are better equipped today than they have been at any time in 40 years but we are not
complacent," he said.
'Realistic' strategy
He said the government would "continue to give safety the highest priority" and said he
had been assured Operation Panther's Claw was having a "major impact on the Taliban".
All party leaders paid tribute to those killed in recent days - Mr Brown said Britain owed
them a "huge debt of gratitude".
Conservative leader David Cameron said more needed to be done to set out a "tightly
defined, hard headed and realistic" strategy. He pressed the prime minister on whether
he had turned down a military request for an extra 2,000 troops. And he said while
Mr Brown had said helicopter capacity had increased since 2006 the "real point" was
that the number of troops had doubled since then. "So proportionately there hasn't
really been an increase in helicopter capacity at all," he said.
"Do you regret the £1.4bn cut in the helicopter programme that you as the chancellor
of the exchequer pushed through in 2004?"
At a press conference earlier Mr Cameron said the government must ensure troops
had the right equipment adding: "It's a scandal in particular that they still lack enough
helicopters to move around in Afghanistan." He said other Nato countries should fulfil
their commitments, arguing that the government needed to "really hold their feet to
the fire" and "beg, borrow or frankly steal the helicopters that are necessary".
'Very grateful'
A poll carried out for the BBC and the Guardian suggests public opinion is split over
the UK's mission in Afghanistan. Of 1,000 people questioned, 47% said they opposed
the British operation, while 46% said they supported it. However in 2006 only 31%
of those polled gave their support.
The spokesman for the task force in Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson,
said: "The soldiers are very grateful for that support. It gives us a buoyant and a
reassuring feeling." During Bob Ainsworth's first Commons questions as defence
secretary, his Tory shadow Liam Fox said the public did not understand "why we're
not doing everything we can to reduce the risks to our forces". Mr Fox added: "If
we cannot move our forces by air, they are more vulnerable on the ground."
Mr Ainsworth said the government was planning to invest £6bn on helicopters over
the coming years. But he added: "The changes in the way in which the operations
are being conducted leads to more ground operations and these cannot be conducted
from helicopters."
UK troops are on an offensive designed to increase security ahead of Afghan elections
next month. But the surge has brought a big increase in casualties, with 15 servicemen
killed in the first 10 days of the month. It means 184 service personnel have now died
in Afghanistan since 2001, more than the 179 who were killed during the war in Iraq.
Among those killed were three 18 year olds.
