ANGUS ROBERTSON SNP, REPEATS CALLS FOR AFGHAN POLICY RETHINK.

ANGUS ROBERTSON SNP, REPEATS CALLS FOR AFGHAN POLICY RETHINK.

SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson Angus Robertson MP has repeated calls for a major rethink of UK strategy in Afghanistan. Mr Robertson said a serious review – after next months Afghan elections - was essential to refocus efforts and convince people that the best strategy is being pursued.

Mr Robertson said:

“It is essential that we have a serious review of our strategy and operations not just to refocus our efforts, but also to actually convince people that the best strategy is being pursued.

“The awful toll of military personnel killed in Afghanistan has understandably led to questions about just what our forces are fighting for. When we first went to Afghanistan the Defence Secretary blithely suggested they could complete their mission ‘without firing a shot’ – people want to know what has happened.

“We are going to have to take stock after the Afghan elections next month – Ministers must convince us that they have a proper strategy and a proper objective which has the likelihood of success.

“A military solution is clearly not enough – the idea that you are only going to secure your objective militarily is wrong. Perhaps most crucially we need development, as the UK’s former ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, says the army has been "holding a wall up" in Helmand, but "no one has come along to build a buttress" of development.

“What is required is a major rethink that looks at all the options, and that will give people, not least our troops themselves, the confidence that the right strategy is being pursued and is achievable.”