Mission accomplished in Afghanistan, declares David Cameron
Prime minister makes claim on visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand a year before all UK troops are due to withdraw
David Cameron has declared mission accomplished in Afghanistan after 12 years of British involvement in the conflict, despite fears of a surge of violence from the Taliban around next year’s elections.
The prime minister made the bold claim as he visited Camp Bastion, the British base in Helmand province, almost exactly a year before all UK fighting troops are due to be withdrawn from the country.
Almost 6,000 men and women are still serving in Afghanistan in a war that has cost 646 British lives so far.
Asked whether they were coming home with mission accomplished, Cameron said: “Yes I think they do. I think they can come home with their heads held high. You know, we will not leave behind a perfect country or a perfect democracy.
“You have to remember that Afghanistan is an extremely poor country with a very, very troubled history but I think the purpose of our mission was always to build an Afghanistan and Afghan security forces that were capable of maintaining a basic level of security so this country never again became a haven for terrorist training camps.
“That has been the most important part of the mission … The absolute driving part of the mission is the basic level of security so that it doesn’t become a haven for terror.
“That is the mission, that was the mission and I think we will have accomplished that mission and so our troops can be very proud of what they have done.”
Throughout the year, the UK military will gradually hand over completely to the 350,000-strong Afghan forces to keep the Taliban insurgents at bay, despite worries over whether the relatively new army and police forces have enough training and equipment to deal with the threat.
It is understood there are particular worries about a surge in violence around the election on 5 April this year, when the long-term president, Hamid Karzai, will hand over to a new leader.
It is understood the British military is braced for a heightened threat as the Taliban is likely to use this event to mount a campaign against politicians and election observers, with increased risk of assassinations and a slide backwards into violence.
