David Cameron on June 25 gave the first clear indication of the timing for a full withdrawal of British soldiers from Afghanistan, saying that he wanted troops home within five years.
Asked in Canada at the Toronto G8 summit if he wanted U.K. forces home before the 2015 general election, he said: “I want that to happen, make no mistake about it. We can’t be there for another five years, having been there for nine years already.” The Prime Minister said: “I want us to roll up our sleeves and get on with delivering what will bring the success we want, which is not a perfect Afghanistan, but some stability in Afghanistan and the ability for the Afghans themselves to run their country so they can come home.” His aides insisted his remarks to Sky (satellite television) news channel were not designed to signal a change of strategy before his first bilateral meeting with Barack Obama today. Mr. Cameron added that he preferred not to “deal in too strict timetables”.
During the election campaign Mr. Cameron said he wanted to see British troops start to come home by 2015, and has tried to argue withdrawal will be based on benchmarks of success. Mr. Obama has committed himself to a review of the U.S. counter-insurgency strategy next year.
Mr. Cameron and Mr. Obama have already spoken on the phone this week about the implications of the removal of General Stanley McChrystal as Nato commander in Afghanistan, insisting the British did not see his removal as the moment for a further strategic review.
The prime minister has already braced the public for further casualties this summer, saying this was inevitable as the counter-insurgency seeks to spread itself across Afghanistan.
In a separate interview with the UK ITV (television) news channel, Cameron acknowledged that the British troops can expect fierce opposition from the Taliban over the coming months.
“It will be a difficult summer, there is no doubt about that,” said Mr. Cameron. “But [that’s] partly because we are doing so much more with the Americans in Helmand province, with hundreds of thousands of troops rather than the few thousand we used to have and it’s making a big difference.
“It will be a difficult summer, but we are getting to a period where parts of Afghanistan can now be run by the Afghans themselves. That is a very exciting prospect for bringing our troops home.” Mr. Cameron is due to lead discussions at the G8 today on Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the need for an inclusive political settlement.
He added: “Britain should have a long—term relationship with Afghanistan, including helping to train their troops and their civil society, long after the vast bulk of troops have gone home.” Mr. Obama wants a U.S. withdrawal to begin next summer although General David Petraeus, the new US commander in Afghanistan, has insisted that has to be based on conditions on the ground.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Cameron hold their first meeting as president and prime minister on the fringes of the G8 summit today. Mr. Obama will try to reassure the prime minister that the war in Afghanistan will not go on indefinitely, in the week that the 300th British soldier died there.
A total of 307 U.K. service personnel have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001. In the latest incident, on Wednesday night, four British soldiers died in Helmand province when their armoured vehicle rolled off a road and ended up under water in a canal.
Copyright: Guardian News & Media 2010
