Cameron reaffirms plans forafghan withdrawal

DAV ID CAM E RO N yesterday reaffirmed plans to withdraw British troops from Afghanistan amid fresh warnings the country could re-emerge as a terrorist haven once international forces have gone.

Attending the Nato summit in Chicago, the Prime Minister confirmed British troops will end their combat role by the end of 2014.

Despite the international pull-out, he insisted the Taliban could not regain power by force of arms and he urged them to reopen negotiations with the government of President Hamid Karzai.

“The message to the insurgency is equally clear. – you can’t win on the battlefield – stop fighting and start talking,” he said.

However, senior officials acknowledged there was no guarantee terrorists would not be able to re-establish a foothold in the country.

“It is unrealistic to assume that Afghanistan is going to be completely secure and there is no possibility of a terrorist threat reemerging,” said one official.

“But our achievements of the last decade mean that we will withdraw from a country where the threat is much reduced and where Afghan forces are now much more able to respond to that threat.”

Officials have already raised the prospect that a small number of British troops could stay on in a counter-terrorism role after 2014.

Mr Cameron added: “It is in our national interest that we continue to play an important role in supporting Afghanistan beyond 2014.

“We are making a decisive and enduring commitment to the longterm future of Afghanistan.

“The message to the Afghan people is that we will not desert them.”

Britain has already pledged $110 million a year (£70 million) towards the £4 billion annual cost of supporting the Afghan forces after 2014.

Theamericans, who will shoulder the lion’s share of the burden, are looking for around $1.3 billion (£820 million) from the allies, and were said to be confident of achieving the total.

There we r e fresh contrib utions during the summit from the Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg, with further support expected from the Gulf States.