BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown stood by British military involvement in Afghanistan yesterday, despite mounting troop losses and growing doubts in the United Kingdom as to whether the Taliban could be defeated.
“If we let the Taliban back into control in Afghanistan, then al-Qaeda will have an even bigger base in which to move,” Mr Brown said last night during a visit to Widnes in Cheshire.
The difficulties facing Mr Brown have intensified following the killing of five soldiers on Monday by an Afghan policeman, and the death yesterday of an infantryman in an explosion in Sangin in Helmand province.
Last night, a Channel 4 opinion poll showed that British public opposition to the war in Afghanistan has increased significantly, with just 32 per cent now believing that the Taliban can be defeated, compared with 42 per cent a fortnight ago.
However, Mr Brown insisted yesterday: “If we are to defend Britain properly from this terrorist threat, then it is not enough simply to defend ourselves here. We have got to make sure that we diminish the effect of those people who are planning terrorist activities on the Afghan-Pakistan border.”
He went on: “I think we’ve also got to show people that there is a way forward – that as we train Afghan forces to take responsibility for their own country, then our troops can come home. And it’s to make that happen that we’re stepping up the training of Afghan forces.
“It’s not easy, and we will have difficult days as we have had, but it’s important to recognise that there are 43 countries involved in this effort and we have got to do it together to make sure this terrorist threat does not become a reality on our streets,” he said.
The United Nations said on Thursday it would evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for western efforts to stabilise the war-torn country.
Spokesman Aleem Siddique said the UN would relocate about 600 of its roughly 1,100 international staff, with some being moved to safer sites within Afghanistan and the rest withdrawn from the country temporarily.
The move, a week after five UN foreign staff were killed by militants in Kabul, complicates US president Barack Obama’s counter-insurgency war strategy, which foresees an influx of civilian assistance alongside extra troops.
Mr Obama is due to decide within weeks whether to approve a request from his commander in Afghanistan for tens of thousands of additional troops.
US forces in Afghanistan have already doubled in the nine months since Mr Obama took office.
The UN said the evacuations would not disrupt its operations in the country.
“We’re doing everything we can to minimise disruption of our work during this period,” UN special envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide told reporters at a news conference in Kabul.
“We are simply doing what we have to do, following the tragic events of last week, to look after our workers in a difficult moment while ensuring that our operations in Afghanistan can continue.”
Mr Eide said some staff would relocate to Dubai where the UN has a facility and where it is “inside the mission area”.
Mr Siddique said the UN staff would return in three to four weeks after its security measures are changed.