MP: not one of the pre-conditions for a successful campaign exists in Afghanistan
During Defence Questions in the House of Commons this week, John Baron MP pressed The Rt. Hon. Liam Fox MP, the Secretary of State for Defence, over why he believed we were going to beat the Taliban.
John said:
“The Defence Secretary brings a welcome dose of realism to his post, but given that counter-insurgency operations in the past, such as Malaya, suggest that not one of the pre-conditions for success exists in Afghanistan today, why does he think this is going to be different, and why does he think that we are going to beat the Taliban?”
Liam Fox replied that the aim is to build a big enough Afghan national security force to maintain a stable Afghanistan when the international combat troops leave.
John said afterwards:
“History suggests that for a counter-insurgency operation to succeed four pre-conditions are necessary: control of the borders; a credible government; support of the majority of the population; and good troop density numbers. None of these exist in Afghanistan.”
“The US should open non-conditional talks with the Taliban to explore possible common ground – evidence suggests they too mistrust Al-Qaeda. As we proved in Northern Ireland, you can talk and fight at the same time.”
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