Downing Street Says » Afghanistan

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) briefed the assembled press on the morning’s Cabinet meeting.

Asked about the Prime Minister’s press conference and his mention of the transfer of two areas in Helmand, the PMS replied that he could not go into the detail but that this was something which would be done in conjunction with the allies and therefore we will need to work with them. He said that the principle was now well established that we had to move to the position where we hand over to local Afghan forces and police and that clearly there would be a transition period. He explained that the Prime Minister this morning was setting out one of the next stages of Afghanisation.

When then asked whether handing over provinces would have an implication on UK force levels, the PMS said not necessarily. He restated that this would be part of Afghanisation and that we need to be able to confidently hand over. He added that with the Prime Minister signalling that two parts of Helmand can probably be transferred from our side, it may be that the Americans would be thinking likewise and that they could do the same in areas where they have control.

When asked for clarification on whether the exit strategy is Afghanisation, the PMS strongly affirmed this. He said that there must be a situation where both the Afghan police and the army are able and feel comfortable running the parts of Afghanistan that are currently run by the allies. A key part of this will be mentoring and partnerships through the process of transition. All sides must feel comfortable that the Afghan police and army can take over and fully control those provinces themselves.

When asked where the campaign ends, the PMS replied that it will be once this process is complete. The Prime Minister had been clear that our exit strategy is a function of Afghanisation.

The PMS was then asked further about the two probable areas of Helmand to be handed over and whether they were significant and substantial, to which he replied that it must be expected that they would form a significant part of the province.

When asked whether the Prime Minister’s announcement today was coordinated with Angela Merkel, who has made similar remarks about handing back provinces, the PMS said that it had not been coordinated. The Prime Minister would always want to give people the opportunity to understand what the next stage is in the campaign and this was a logical extension of what has been happening already. Asked why this did not come out in his speech on Friday, the PMS said that there was nothing to read into that this was one part of Afganisation, not a new phase.

The PMS was then asked how long the Cabinet meeting this morning was and what proportion was spent discussing Afghanistan. He replied that it was from around 0830 to 0955 and the bulk of the discussion was around Afghanistan but fair wind was given to the important Skills Strategy to be launched by Lord Mandleson tomorrow. Pushed on the proportion of discussion time, the PMS replied that it was most of the meeting. He was asked whether anyone raised doubts about the overall strategy, to which the answer was no. He was then asked about whether concerns were raised about the need to address public opinion, at which point he said that he would not go into further detail about the discussions in Cabinet. However, the Prime Minister and Cabinet colleagues are always aware that explaining the campaign is the reason the Prime Minister had made two major speeches in the last couple of months, taking every opportunity to explain to the British people our strategy and why we need to be in Afghanistan to keep the streets of Britain safe.

He was then asked whether the issue of the letter to Jacqui Janes was raised, to which the PMS replied that it was not.

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» Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Afghanistan

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