ianstone
06-14-2010, 09:15 PM
The war in Afghanistan has made us safer, says Cameron, as he hints troops could leave by next year
By Nicola Boden (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nicola+Boden)
Last updated at 12:40 AM on 15th June 2010
Comments (55) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286437/Liam-Fox-warns-defence-review-ruthless-sentiment.html#comments)
threat of Al Qaeda attacks against Britain has been slashed thanks to the war in Afghanistan, David Cameron announced yesterday.
The Prime Minister revealed the latest intelligence assessment as he paved the way for a British withdrawal from the war zone next year.
Gordon Brown's government consistently used the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan and Pakistan to justify the war.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/14/article-1286437-0A084B12000005DC-955_468x286.jpg Protection: David Cameron told MPs the operation in Afghanistan was vital
It quoted figures showing three-quarters of the most serious terrorist plots against Britain had links to the border area.
But Mr Cameron told MPs: 'Today I am advised that the threat from Al Qaeda from Afghanistan and Pakistan has reduced.'
Mr Cameron's address to the Commons followed his first visit to Afghanistan as PM last week but its timing will also take the sting out of the brutal warning about savings.
'This year is the vital year. We have the forces we need on the ground,' the Prime Minister told MPs.
But he added: 'I do not pretend it will be easy' and warned there would be further casualties over the summer as the Taliban fighting season resumes.
Almost 300 British soldiers have already died in the conflict. The 292nd to be killed was named today as Lance Corporal Andrew Breeze, 31.
More...
Defence budget to be cut 'ruthlessly': Major projects must be axed but troops will get the kit they need, says Liam Fox (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286635/Defence-budget-cuts-Major-projects-axed-troops-kit-need-says-Liam-Fox.html)
Is Afghanistan actually worth fighting for? U.S. discovers $1trillion worth of gold, iron, copper and lithium (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1286464/US-discovers-natural-desposits-gold-iron-copper-lithium-Afghanistan.html)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286354/Capital-gains-tax-Ministers-prepare-climbdown-fears-rise-VAT-hike.html)
'Don't send as many criminals to prison': Furore over Justice Secretary Ken Clarke's plan to cut the jails budget (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286287/Ken-Clarke-Dont-send-criminals-prison.html)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286214/Forces-chief-Sir-Jock-Stirrup-gets-marching-orders.html)
Defence Secretary Dr Fox had earlier laid the ground for deep defence cuts as he insisted Britain's military would have to share the cost of paying down state debt.
He attacked Labour's 'shambolic' approach to running defence and warned their plans were no longer affordable but still refused to say where the axe would fall.
Dr Fox has already made clear he is not ruling out the possibility of troop cuts and his talk of sentiment will raise fears more regiments will be merged to cut costs.
The savings will risk a major backlash against the Government from the Armed Forces at a time when troops are still engaged in Afghanistan.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/14/article-1286437-0A07999D000005DC-556_468x298.jpg 'Ruthless' cuts: Liam Fox warned savings would have to be imposed without 'sentiment' to rebalance the defence budget
'I want to be optimistic about the financial position but I am sorry to say the position from Government is even more bleak than it looked from Opposition,' Dr Fox said.
'Resources are tight for the country as a whole and defence is no exception. This review must be anchored in the art of the possible.
'We cannot insure against every imaginable risk and so we need to decide which risks we are willing to meet and which risks we are willing to take.'
The Minister declared there would be a 'clean break from the military and political mindset of cold war politics' that ultimately will make security in Britain far stronger.
He promised a Strategic Defence Review, the first in 12 years, will be published in a White Paper by the end of the year.
And he vowed the 'salami-slicing' of the previous government would end and be replaced with a more sensible, considered approach.
'We face some difficult, delicate and politically-charged decisions. There are competing priorities, risks to manage and budgets to balance,' Dr Fox said.
'We must act ruthlessly and without sentiment. It is inevitable that there will be the perception of winners and losers as we go through this process but defence as a whole will, and must, come out in a stronger position.'
Britain's top military commander Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup is to step down as Chief of the Defence Staff in the autumn to allow for a new team after the review.
The Ministry of Defence's most senior civil servant, permanent under-secretary Sir Bill Jeffrey, will also go.
Dr Fox, speaking at the Royal United Services Institute in London, stressed the coalition's commitment to the conflict in Afghanistan.
AFGHAN TOLL HITS 295
Speaking before David Cameron addressed the Commons about his visit to the region last week, he predicted 'significant progress' by the end of the year.
Britain is fighting there 'out of necessity not choice' and the mission was 'vital' for national and global security, the Defence Secretary declared.
'Afghanistan remains our top priority and our people in theatre will get the best support possible,' he said.
'Counter-insurgency requires strategic patience and we are committed to seeing the mission through to resolution, creating a stable enough Afghanistan to allow the Afghan people to manage their own internal and external security.
'This is no time for us to lose our nerve and we must find the language to persuade the British people to stick with us.
'By the end of the year, I expect that we will be able to show significant progress, consolidating Isaf's control in central Helmand and accelerating the training of the Afghan national security forces.'
He added: 'We are neither colonisers nor occupiers. We seek government of Afghanistan by the Afghans for the Afghans.'
Dr Fox admitted the task ahead was 'daunting' but insisted 'we cannot afford to delay'. 'To be very frank, change is now not an option, it is a necessity,' he said.
'It is no secret that the Labour government mismanaged the defence budget to such an extent that the future programme is unaffordable,' he added.
The Ministry of Defence would be restructured around three pillars: strategy and policy, the Armed Forces, procurement and estates making it 'efficent and leaner'.
Hinting regiments will be altered, the Defence Secretary said the Armed Forces would be 'reconfigured'.
'We will have to be tough and unsentimental to boot if we are to do what needs to be done,' he said.
'It is inevitable there will be the perception of winners and losers as we go through this process. The prize is a safer Britain with secure interests and a sustainable defence programme.'
TODAY'S POLL
Is it time to pull out of Afghanistan?
Yes
No
VOTE http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06_02/soldiers_108x76.jpg
POLL RESULTS
However, he said the Treasury had accepted rebalancing the defence budget would take a 'period of years' to avoid hamstringing the Armed Forces.
'It is not possible to make very big reductions in the defence budget without adversely affecting our capabilities in the short term. Therefore this has to be a medium to long-term endeavour,.' he said.
'While we have to respond to the economic environment the same as everybody else, there are different timelines involved in the MoD. I think that it the correct and responsible course to take.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286437/Liam-Fox-warns-defence-review-ruthless-sentiment.html#ixzz0qsaybpEI
Progress and stability or sell out, personally I'm shocked
By Nicola Boden (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nicola+Boden)
Last updated at 12:40 AM on 15th June 2010
Comments (55) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286437/Liam-Fox-warns-defence-review-ruthless-sentiment.html#comments)
threat of Al Qaeda attacks against Britain has been slashed thanks to the war in Afghanistan, David Cameron announced yesterday.
The Prime Minister revealed the latest intelligence assessment as he paved the way for a British withdrawal from the war zone next year.
Gordon Brown's government consistently used the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan and Pakistan to justify the war.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/14/article-1286437-0A084B12000005DC-955_468x286.jpg Protection: David Cameron told MPs the operation in Afghanistan was vital
It quoted figures showing three-quarters of the most serious terrorist plots against Britain had links to the border area.
But Mr Cameron told MPs: 'Today I am advised that the threat from Al Qaeda from Afghanistan and Pakistan has reduced.'
Mr Cameron's address to the Commons followed his first visit to Afghanistan as PM last week but its timing will also take the sting out of the brutal warning about savings.
'This year is the vital year. We have the forces we need on the ground,' the Prime Minister told MPs.
But he added: 'I do not pretend it will be easy' and warned there would be further casualties over the summer as the Taliban fighting season resumes.
Almost 300 British soldiers have already died in the conflict. The 292nd to be killed was named today as Lance Corporal Andrew Breeze, 31.
More...
Defence budget to be cut 'ruthlessly': Major projects must be axed but troops will get the kit they need, says Liam Fox (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286635/Defence-budget-cuts-Major-projects-axed-troops-kit-need-says-Liam-Fox.html)
Is Afghanistan actually worth fighting for? U.S. discovers $1trillion worth of gold, iron, copper and lithium (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1286464/US-discovers-natural-desposits-gold-iron-copper-lithium-Afghanistan.html)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286354/Capital-gains-tax-Ministers-prepare-climbdown-fears-rise-VAT-hike.html)
'Don't send as many criminals to prison': Furore over Justice Secretary Ken Clarke's plan to cut the jails budget (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286287/Ken-Clarke-Dont-send-criminals-prison.html)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286214/Forces-chief-Sir-Jock-Stirrup-gets-marching-orders.html)
Defence Secretary Dr Fox had earlier laid the ground for deep defence cuts as he insisted Britain's military would have to share the cost of paying down state debt.
He attacked Labour's 'shambolic' approach to running defence and warned their plans were no longer affordable but still refused to say where the axe would fall.
Dr Fox has already made clear he is not ruling out the possibility of troop cuts and his talk of sentiment will raise fears more regiments will be merged to cut costs.
The savings will risk a major backlash against the Government from the Armed Forces at a time when troops are still engaged in Afghanistan.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/14/article-1286437-0A07999D000005DC-556_468x298.jpg 'Ruthless' cuts: Liam Fox warned savings would have to be imposed without 'sentiment' to rebalance the defence budget
'I want to be optimistic about the financial position but I am sorry to say the position from Government is even more bleak than it looked from Opposition,' Dr Fox said.
'Resources are tight for the country as a whole and defence is no exception. This review must be anchored in the art of the possible.
'We cannot insure against every imaginable risk and so we need to decide which risks we are willing to meet and which risks we are willing to take.'
The Minister declared there would be a 'clean break from the military and political mindset of cold war politics' that ultimately will make security in Britain far stronger.
He promised a Strategic Defence Review, the first in 12 years, will be published in a White Paper by the end of the year.
And he vowed the 'salami-slicing' of the previous government would end and be replaced with a more sensible, considered approach.
'We face some difficult, delicate and politically-charged decisions. There are competing priorities, risks to manage and budgets to balance,' Dr Fox said.
'We must act ruthlessly and without sentiment. It is inevitable that there will be the perception of winners and losers as we go through this process but defence as a whole will, and must, come out in a stronger position.'
Britain's top military commander Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup is to step down as Chief of the Defence Staff in the autumn to allow for a new team after the review.
The Ministry of Defence's most senior civil servant, permanent under-secretary Sir Bill Jeffrey, will also go.
Dr Fox, speaking at the Royal United Services Institute in London, stressed the coalition's commitment to the conflict in Afghanistan.
AFGHAN TOLL HITS 295
Speaking before David Cameron addressed the Commons about his visit to the region last week, he predicted 'significant progress' by the end of the year.
Britain is fighting there 'out of necessity not choice' and the mission was 'vital' for national and global security, the Defence Secretary declared.
'Afghanistan remains our top priority and our people in theatre will get the best support possible,' he said.
'Counter-insurgency requires strategic patience and we are committed to seeing the mission through to resolution, creating a stable enough Afghanistan to allow the Afghan people to manage their own internal and external security.
'This is no time for us to lose our nerve and we must find the language to persuade the British people to stick with us.
'By the end of the year, I expect that we will be able to show significant progress, consolidating Isaf's control in central Helmand and accelerating the training of the Afghan national security forces.'
He added: 'We are neither colonisers nor occupiers. We seek government of Afghanistan by the Afghans for the Afghans.'
Dr Fox admitted the task ahead was 'daunting' but insisted 'we cannot afford to delay'. 'To be very frank, change is now not an option, it is a necessity,' he said.
'It is no secret that the Labour government mismanaged the defence budget to such an extent that the future programme is unaffordable,' he added.
The Ministry of Defence would be restructured around three pillars: strategy and policy, the Armed Forces, procurement and estates making it 'efficent and leaner'.
Hinting regiments will be altered, the Defence Secretary said the Armed Forces would be 'reconfigured'.
'We will have to be tough and unsentimental to boot if we are to do what needs to be done,' he said.
'It is inevitable there will be the perception of winners and losers as we go through this process. The prize is a safer Britain with secure interests and a sustainable defence programme.'
TODAY'S POLL
Is it time to pull out of Afghanistan?
Yes
No
VOTE http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06_02/soldiers_108x76.jpg
POLL RESULTS
However, he said the Treasury had accepted rebalancing the defence budget would take a 'period of years' to avoid hamstringing the Armed Forces.
'It is not possible to make very big reductions in the defence budget without adversely affecting our capabilities in the short term. Therefore this has to be a medium to long-term endeavour,.' he said.
'While we have to respond to the economic environment the same as everybody else, there are different timelines involved in the MoD. I think that it the correct and responsible course to take.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286437/Liam-Fox-warns-defence-review-ruthless-sentiment.html#ixzz0qsaybpEI
Progress and stability or sell out, personally I'm shocked