Call for New Direction in Afghanistan

Diane Abbott MP gave her response today to the Prime Minister’s statement on Afghanistan. The London MP has recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan organised by the Ministry of Defence where she toured Helmand province and met British troops

During his statement Gordon Brown highlighted the large amount of aid that the UK has been donating to Afghanistan - £850 million in the past three years. The Prime Minister also talked about the wider aim of the military operation in Afghanistan: strengthening Afghan control of police, military and government. Training of Afghan forces is being given by British and other foreign military personnel. 

Commenting on the statement Diane said today:

 “I am sure the Afghan people are pleased that Gordon Brown visited. But I wonder if he got to talk to ordinary troops and not just to top officers? If he had spoken to ordinary troops he would have realised that our military intervention is not working. The level of injuries and casualties of British troops is spiralling and ordinary Afghans increasingly see us as an army of occupation. The Taliban continues to operate and we have not been successful in closing down the growing of poppies for heroin. Afghanistan remains the major source of the heroin on the streets of Britain. President Karzai controls very little territory outside of Kabul. A few more British troops are not the answer. We need to engage with the corruption in the police force and Afghan civil society. We need to work with international partners to close down the support the Taliban are getting from elements in Pakistan. We need to follow President Barak Obama’s lead in recognising that we cannot bring stability to Afghanistan in isolation. We also have to deal with the problems in Pakistan. And in the long run there will be no stability in the wider region until we solve the disputes in Kashmir and the Middle East.”

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