Fears grow that early exit in
2013 would leave Afghans at mercy of rebel attacks.
Kim Sengupta
20 July 2012
David Cameron has warned the Taliban during a visit to Afghanistan that they
will not be able to simply "wait it out" until troops withdraw in 2014.
The Prime Minister said British support for the country would remain long after
the planned exit date. But his words are unlikely to deter the Quetta Shura, the
insurgent leadership, and their handlers in the ISI, the Pakistani intelligence
service. Mr Cameron stated: "What I would say to the Taliban is be in no doubt
there is a very clear and strong plan to transfer lead security responsibility…
to very capable Afghan forces."
What is at issue is when this transfer takes place. During his trip, Mr Cameron
appeared to confirm a report that Oliver Letwin, the chairman of a new armed
forces Cabinet sub-committee, had proposed that pulling out all combat troops by
2013, a year ahead of schedule, would save £3bn and that this has the support of
George Osborne. The Prime Minister would only say that he would not disclose
discussions within the National Security Council.
So worried have senior military officers become that the Government may not last
the course that lobby correspondents travelling with the No 10 party were
briefed about the risks of premature withdrawal. Areas in Helmand which were
battlegrounds just a couple of years ago are now comparatively stable, it was
pointed out, because of "boots on the ground"; leaving too early would mean
jettisoning gains made with the sacrifice of UK lives.
The scaling down of forces has been calibrated in detail with the Americans and,
crucially, with the realistic rate at which Afghan security forces can reach
their target numbers with adequate preparation and support. Cutting corners in
vetting and training of recruits would not only leave them vulnerable to the
insurgents, but could lead to more "green on blue" attacks with Afghans turning
their guns on their erstwhile allies.
In Kabul, Mr Cameron apparently questioned the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai,
about the slow progress of peace negotiations. According to Downing Street
briefings, Britain is "privately irritated" that one set of talks in Qatar
between representatives of the insurgency and Western officials broke down
because the Afghan government complained about being excluded. In fact a whole
series of talks – in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Dubai and even the Maldives – have
broken down for a variety of reasons. Afghan and American and British officials
claim that, on occasions, this has been due to deliberate sabotage by the ISI.
Critics could point out that it is an astonishingly colonial attitude that the
Qatar talks about the future of Afghanistan were even contemplated without the
Afghan government taking part. The Afghans could also remind Mr Cameron that the
UK's role in the peace process has not always been covered in glory. Two years
ago British officials were duped by a conman claiming to be Mullah Akhtar
Mohmmad Mansour, the supposed second in command of the Quetta Shura, who was
given UK funding.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/cameron-admits-taliban-just-waiting-for-troops-to-leave-7960156.html