29 September 2009: Times
By Tom Coghlan
A Conservative government would increase British troop numbers in Afghanistan by up to 2,500 and deliver more helicopters, armoured vehicles and “other key battlefield enablers”, the Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox indicated yesterday.
Claiming that continued British involvement in Afghanistan was a “national security imperative”, Dr Fox told an audience at the International Institute for Strategic Studies: “A Conservative government would be sympathetic to a request for an increase in the number of British troops to help expedite the training of Afghan security forces.”
US officials indicated that 2,000 to 2,500 British troops would “substantially speed up” the training of the Afghan National Army in a request that was rejected by the Government earlier this year. Tory officials said that a Conservative government would be "very sympathetic" to a repeat of the request.
“Above all,” Dr Fox said, “the British Government must ensure that our troops are properly equipped for the crucial operations they are involved in, including the earliest possible increase in the number of helicopters, armoured vehicles and other key battlefield enablers.”
British commanders in Helmand have asked the Government for a "mini-surge" in UK forces in the province to help to train the Afghan Army.
This follows additional pressure on troop numbers as a result of Operation Panther’s Claw in central districts of Helmand. About 3,000 British troops are committed to holding ground cleared during that operation.
General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of Nato troops in Afghanistan, says that he requires a "bridging force" of up to 40,000 extra troops from the US and its Nato allies to build the Afghan Army and police forces to 400,000 by 2013.
In an indication of the attitude a Tory government would take to Afghanistan, Dr Fox attacked the Government’s failure “to define our objectives in national security terms” or to resource British forces adequately.
He warned that a failure in Afghanistan would be a “shot in the arm” for jihadists around the world and would “increase threats to the United Kingdom tomorrow".
“Be under no illusions – it would fuel latent fundamentalist sentiment within the UK, and other European countries,” he said.
He also warned that the future of Nato, Pakistani security and wider regional stability in South Asia were all tied to the success of the mission in Afghanistan.
"Failure is not an option," he said.
The Conservatives would support plans to develop local auxiliary forces, Dr Fox said. The formation of local militias remains a controversial idea, though a project called the Afghan Public Protection Programme is being piloted in Wardak province. The programme attempts to replicate the highly successful "Sons of Iraq" militia force that was co-opted from Sunni insurgent groups to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq.
“I’m in no position to work out the mechanics here today for what a similar programme could look like in Helmand but I do know that one would be hard pressed to give an example of a counter-insurgency campaign that has been successful without using local auxiliary forces,” he said.
Indicating future Tory government support for a long-term commitment to the Afghan mission, Dr Fox said: “Of course, as a politician and especially as Shadow Defence Secretary, I would love to be able to tell the electorate, our brave servicemen and women, and their families that we will leave by a predetermined date and that their sacrifices will soon end. But this would be sadly untrue and it would be irresponsible to do this if we are genuine about the national security implications facing us. It may get worse before it gets better.”
