Parliament Delays Clear Afghan Strategy

British Troops Side-lined by General Election Concerns

Nov 9, 2009

Politicians fearing accusations of opportunism are too scared to have an honest debate about Afghanistan exit strategy and hand a political gift-horse to the BNP

Despite increasing demand by the British public for a clearer strategy on troop deployment in Afghanistan, debate is now obstructed by party political concerns about the issue's effect on the forthcoming general election. This is not a concern shared by the BNP whose website currently describes the main political leader's attendance at the Remembrance Sunday Commemoration as "the ultimate insult". The BNP are already using the issue of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan as a major policy proposal in their campaign. If Parliament fails to recognise the need for a strategy review of the Afghan mission before the election, the far-right BNP will be able to claim to be more representative of public opinon than the mainstream.

Voices of Dissent

A recent ComRes survey for the BBC shows 64% thought the war was “unwinnable” and 63% favoured British troops being withdrawn “as soon as possible”. This was also a 25% increase on the previous week and evidence of the rapidly decreasing public support for the war..

Kim Howells, chairman of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee and a former Foreign Office minister has called for a 'fundamental re-think" of the government's current strategy. He advises a phased withdrawal combined with an increase in domestic intelligence measures.

Former Liberal Democrat MP Lord Ashdown is worried how much public opinion could affect the outcome of the war and blames the change of mood on un-clear objectives. “We have a government that has completely failed to make a cogent case for this war or convince us that it has a strategy worthy of the sacrifices being made.”

Former UN Commander Colonel Bob Stewart raised the issue of counter-productiveness during a BBC Newsnight debate with Times columnist Christina Lamb and Lord West Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Security and Counter-terrorism. Colonel Stewart said that he was not sure anymore about the level of British involvement, “The US’s national security adviser said there are fewer than 100 Al Qa’ida operatives in Afghanistan, MI5 has suggested that there are 2000 people of ‘special interest’ in the UK.” Christine Lamb spoke about the need for a credible Afghan Government as a key factor in any decision on future strategy. This legitimacy is also considered by many in the military as a vital condition for counter-insurgency measures to have any effect.

Pre-Election Consensus

Lord West responded to Colonel Stewart’s and Christina Lamb’s concerns by calling the mission “highly complex and complicated” and stressed that he had “no doubt that the present strategy is correct and keeping us safe”

Nick Clegg leader of the Liberal Democrats has expressed the necessity for clearer objectives but is unquestioning of the Government’s maintenance that the Afghan mission is vital to homeland security. The Conservatives also present similar consensus on this issue and Shadow Defence Minister Liam Fox stated in regard to a timeframe for an exit strategy in the Independent 9.11.09 that “The military mission will have succeeded when we have a stable enough Afghanistan, able to maintain its own internal and external security, free from outside interference.”

Newsnight also reported on the current political consensus in Parliament suggesting all 3 main parties are exercising caution over further debate on what many see as a failed strategy in Afghanistan because they fear being accused of opportunism.

A Downing Street aide recently implied that President Obama’s ‘dilly dallying’ over the decision whether to answer General McChrystal’s call for 40,000 more troops as having a major impact on the cabinet's decision making. An article in The Independent on Sunday commenting on General McChrystal’s plan to re-deploy British troops into more stable regions and away from the frontline, suggests he has concerns about the limited resources such as helicopters currently available to soldiers engaged in remote areas of Helmand. The General will also be aware of the British publics decreasing support for the war and the worry that the Taliban will escalate attacks on British troops prior to the election. Senior defense strategists fear there could be as many as 400 soldier deaths by the time of the general election in six months time.

British politicians shy of reviewing strategy before the next election need to consider the immediate position of troops on the ground following the controversial re-appointment of President Karzai. Any future strategy depends on whether the conditions required for effective counter-insurgency are actually possible in Afghanistan.

The copyright of the article Parliament Delays Clear Afghan Strategy in British/UK Affairs is owned by Lynn Bird. Permission to republish Parliament Delays Clear Afghan Strategy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.