Brown returns to Afghanistan defence
Brown returns to Afghanistan defence
Monday, 16, Nov 2009 12:03
By Richard James.
Gordon Brown will again attempt to defend Britain's strategy in Afghanistan later today in the face of mounting calls for troops to be withdrawn.
The prime minister will say in a speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet in the City of London tonight that this year's fighting has had the biggest impact on the fight against al-Qaida of any previous 12-month period.
That same period has seen 96 UK soldiers die in Afghanistan, by far the deadliest year for UK forces since the Taliban were ousted in a US-led invasion in 2001.
Mr Brown is expected to say leaving the region now will result in al-Qaida returning to Afghanistan in strength.
"We are in Afghanistan because we judge that, if the Taliban regained power, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups would once more have an environment in which they could operate," he will argue.
"We are there because action in Afghanistan is not an alternative to action in Pakistan, but an inseparable support to it.
"At every point in our history where we have looked outwards, we have become stronger.
"And that is why I say our foreign policy must be both patriotic and internationalist: a foreign policy that recognises and exploits Britain's unique strengths, and defends Britain's national interests strongly - not by retreating into isolation, but by advancing in international cooperation."
Mr Brown is facing increased pressure over Britain's campaign in Afghanistan which has now entered its eighth year and seen 233 UK service personnel die.
The prime minister, along with the rest of Nato leaders, is currently waiting for US president Barack Obama to make his long-awaited decision on a troop surge to the region, with military commanders requesting an extra 40,000 troops be sent.
Critics have pointed to the disastrous presidential election in the summer which saw Hamid Karzai re-elected for a second term despite allegations of widespread vote-rigging and fraud.