Summary
The BBC has reported that Prime Minister David Cameron will discuss Afghanistan today with President Obama, during their first face-to-face meeting since the election. The Today programme on Saturday featured a report from Helmand ahead of Armed Forces Day where soldiers spoke of the boost the day gives them. The Times reported on Saturday that the deaths of Fijian soldiers Kingsman Tagitaginimoce and Corporal Rogoiruwai throw light on Fiji's reverence for service in the British Army and the escape route it offers from poverty. The Daily Telegraph has reported that Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox has said that Trident is the 'only' choice for a nuclear deterrent. Various media outlets have reported that the Prime Minister will issue a warning to Argentina at the G8 event in Toronto that Britain will not give up the Falklands. The Mail on Sunday reported that British troops may soon be receiving blast-proof boxer shorts which will save them from groin injuries. Various media report that Chief of the General Staff, General Sir David Richards, has said that talks with the Taliban should begin 'pretty soon' as part of the exit strategy for international forces in Afghanistan.
Soldier from 101 Engineer Regiment killed in Afghanistan
It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that a soldier from 101 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 27 June 2010. Click here to read more.
Bombardier Stephen Gilbert dies of wounds sustained in Afghanistan
It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that Bombardier Stephen Raymond Gilbert, from 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, died from wounds sustained in Afghanistan in hospital in Birmingham on Saturday 26 June 2010. Click here to read more.
Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton, Lance Corporal David Ramsden, Private Douglas Halliday and Private Alex Isaac killed in Afghanistan
It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that Colour Sergeant Martyn Horton, Lance Corporal David Ramsden, Private Douglas Halliday and Private Alex Isaac were killed in a vehicle incident near Gereshk, Helmand province, on Wednesday 23 June 2010. Click here to read more.
Speculation regarding UK troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
Various media report that Prime Minister David Cameron has said that he wants UK troops withdrawn from Afghanistan by 2015. Asked last week about the timetable for troop withdrawal, Mr Cameron said: "I prefer not to see it in strict timetables. 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."
Asked if UK troops will be back home by the time of the next 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. But one thing we should be clear about - 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."
Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "I don't think there's anything at all new in what the Prime Minister has said. I've said on many occasions that in General McChrystal's strategic plan the aim is to get the Afghan National Security Forces up to a critical mass by 2014. I've always said that we would measure success in Afghanistan by the ability to degrade the threat faced and by the ability to increase the capability of the Afghan forces. Once that was done, it would enable us to bring our forces home without leaving behind a security vacuum into which the forces of insurgency or trans-national terrorism could be drawn, so what the Prime Minister said was in fact entirely consistent with everything we've said so far. We have to have a conditions-based withdrawal from Afghanistan; we cannot leave a vaccum behind, but we hope that it will be possible in the next five years.
"As we move towards the big summit in November, we are looking at setting out a process for transition. We want to see districts and provinces handed over to Afghan control as the Government increases its reach. We saw in Iraq a situation where, when critical mass was reached, that the Government there had the confidence to take over many more functions of the state, including security. In Afghanistan, we're trying to create that same momentum. We want the Government of Afghanistan to take over control of their own country.
"We're not there as colonisers, we're not there to impose our will on the Afghan people. We're there to ensure that, ultimately, we have the government of Afghanistan by the Afghans for the Afghans. That means giving them the skills they require, including the security skills, to make it safe for the international coalition to come home. That's ultimately what we all want to see - we want to see our troops come back as quickly as we can, safely, mission completed and without leaving a security vacuum in their wake."
Minister for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey, added: "The Prime Minister has said several times - so have I, so has the Defence Secretary - that we would hope to get the troops out just as soon as we can. We want to get them home as soon as the job is done and not leave them there a day longer, and I think that in saying that he hoped it will be possible to get them back by the time of the next election five years from now, he is, as I say, expressing a hope, he's not committing to a firm timeline. It's actually exactly the same forecast that I was making during the course of the election and I think it's just putting into the public mind a sense of an overall timeframe, but it's not committing to a particular calendar date for coming out, it'll depend on the conditions on the ground. But I think he's trying to avoid the confusion in some people's minds that it might all be over in a matter of months.
"I don't think there's ever been any suggestion that we were planning for a long-term presence there. The Afghans still support very much what the international community is doing in their country; opinion polls are taken from time to time and still show a high level of support, but they don't want foreigners in their country indefinitely. They want to get the job done, they're building up their own capacity, their national army, as quickly and effectively as they can so that they can start taking more responsibility. And as soon as they're doing that the international community will leave and recognise their sovereignty and let them get on with the job of nation-building."
'Afghanistan is where the will of the international community is being tested'
The Wall Street Journal has published an interview with Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox about how he sees the war in Afghanistan and the role the international community is playing there. Click here to read more.
The Nation celebrates Armed Forces Day
There has been widespread media coverage of the hundreds of events that were held across the UK at the weekend to celebrate Armed Forces Day - the second annual opportunity for the Nation to show its support for all our Armed Forces. From serving personnel and their families, to veterans and the Cadet Forces, the Armed Forces community has been at the heart of a celebration to mark the commitment given to the Nation by those in the Services. Click here to read more.
Kajaki control handed over to US forces
The International Security Assistance Force has announced that British forces in Afghanistan have handed responsibility for security in the town of Kajaki in northern Helmand province to US forces. The reconfiguration, ordered by ISAF commanders, is part of an ongoing rebalancing of troops following the uplift of coalition forces in Helmand province and will better support the strategy of winning over the civilian population by protecting them from Taliban insurgents. Click here to read more.
Defence Secretary comments on homecoming parade disruptions
The Daily Mail has published comments made by Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox at the Armed Forces Day event in Cardiff on Saturday regarding the recent disruption to homecoming parades by protesters. Speaking at the national Armed Forces Day event in Cardiff on Saturday, which was attended by more than 50,000 people, Dr Fox said: "Let's silence the negative voices that attack our Armed Forces but gladly enjoy the security and freedom our Armed Forces provide. While those who criticise our Armed Forces have a right to do so in a democracy, we too, as the moral majority, have a right to take pride in the flag of our nation, an emblem of the freedom we hold dear as the true British patriots, and the freedom that most races, cultures and faiths aspire to. Today, our voice will drown out the bigots of Barking."
