Downing Street Says » Afghanistan

Asked repeatedly to explain the different withdrawal dates given by the PM in his statement and by the CDS, the PMS said they were consistent statements and that there would be no UK combat troops in Afghanistan in 2015.

Asked what evidence the PM had when he said in his statement, that the surge had reversed the momentum of the insurgency, the PMS said that was our assessment of the situation on the ground. When the decision to put the surge in place was made a couple of years ago the situation was clearly not as good but we believed it had been effective in halting the momentum of the insurgency.

Pressed further if that indicated that the tipping point had been reached, the PMS said that the strategy had been effective. This was the UK and US assessment.

Asked about whether it was fair to say the situation was irreversible when the PM talked about making a progressive reduction in troop numbers, the PMS said there was a clear strategy and that the surge had been effective. He added we were now beginning the process of transition to Afghan security forces and clearly the rate at which we could move ahead would be dependent on conditions on the ground.

Asked why Britain was so much more reluctant to give a fixed timetable on progressive troop withdrawal, the PMS replied that we, and the National Security Council, would consider the US announcement and we would have more to say in due course.

Asked if we were reducing troop numbers in response to the US announcement, the PMS said we would make our decision based on the conditions on the ground, as we saw them. Pressed whether this decision was politically motivated, the PMS responded there was a relationship between what the US and UK announced because there was an internationally agreed strategy in place. He added that the US were also analysing the situation on the ground and we saw a similar picture, but we would take our decision based on our own assessment.

Asked about the structural difference between the US and UK troop presence and whether it was wise to make a linkage between actions taken by both countries, the PMS said there was an internationally agreed strategy and we are part of that. When it came to specific decisions, we would be informed by what commanders said on the ground.

Asked if the PM was comfortable with France’s announcement this morning to withdraw troops and whether he thought France had played its full part in taking its full share of the burden, the PMS said there was a broad coalition of nations and they were all committed to our objectives.

Asked about the Foreign Secretary’s comments on talks with the Taliban, the PMS said the FS was clear that he didn’t want to get into the specifics but we had always said that it should be an Afghan led process. Pressed if the FS was referring to something above and beyond a high peace council, the PMS said he wouldn’t add anything more to what the FS had said but added that we had been pushing for a parallel political and military process.

Asked again about withdrawal dates, the PMS said that the rate of transition would be determined by the conditions on the ground. He reiterated that 2015 was a firm deadline.

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» Thursday, June 23, 2011

Afghanistan

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