Britain's drug fighting role in Afghanistan a 'poisoned chalice', say MPs

www.telegraph.co.uk
In a damning report, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee concludes that the conflict has delivered "much less than promised" and that the effort of British troops is being "significantly diluted" by lack of coherent vision and strategy.
"The UK deployment to Helmand was been undermined by unrealistic planning at senior levels, poor co-ordination between Whitehall departments and crucially, a failure to provide the military with clear direction," the report concludes. It demands that the Government urgently issue a statement setting out what lessons have been learned from "the mistakes made by the international community over the last seven years".
The report from the Labour dominated committee will intensify the row about the future of Britain's role in Afghanistan, which has concentrated so far on concerns over lack of equipment, but which now shifts to a much wider set of concerns.
MPs blamed "mission creep" for considerably expanding the UK's role in the conflict to include the task of being the lead force on counter-narcotics operations. In accepting this role, the committee said, "the UK has taken on a poisoned chalice".
Since the first British troops were deployed there in 2001, the UK has moved from its initial goal of supporting the US in countering international terrorism, into the realms of counter-insurgency, protection of human rights and state building.
"During our visit we were struck by the sheer magnitude of the task confronting the UK," MPs on the committee said. "We conclude that there has been significant 'mission creep' in the British deployment to Afghanistan, and that this has resulted in the British government being now committed to a wide range of objectives."
The report disputes ministers' claims that the operation to stop heroin production in Afghanistan has benefits for Britain by restricting the flow of drugs to the West. "The Government's assessment that the drugs trade in Afghanistan is a strategic threat to the UK which, in part, merits the UK's continued military presence in Afghanistan, is debatable."
Moreover, it says there is "little evidence" that recent reductions in poppy cultivation are the result of policies adopted by the UK. It calls on the Government to relinquish the role of lead partner nation on counter-narcotics to the UN and refocus its efforts on driving forward diplomatic efforts.
Other failures of the Coalition singled out by the report include a failure to create an "effective formal justice system". It says there has been "virtually no progress" in tackling the endemic problem of corruption in Afghanistan and that "in many cases the problem has actually become worse. " The recent attempt by the Afghan government to impose a Shia law which would have legalised rape within marriage highlighted how fragile human rights were in the country eight years after the end of Taliban rule.
The future of Nato had also been called into doubt by the conflict as some allies had shirked their share of the burden. "Without a more equitable distribution of responsibility and risk, Nato's effort will be further inhibited and its reputation as a military alliance... seriously damaged," it said.
In a scathing set of conclusions which will intensify debate about the future of Britain's deployment, MPs said: "We conclude that the international effort in Afghanistan since 2001 has delivered much less than it promised and that its impact has been significantly diluted by the absence of a unified vision and strategy, grounded in the realities of Afghanistan's history, culture and politics.
"Avoidable mistakes, including knee-jerk responses now make the task of stabilising the country considerably more difficult." It urges the Government to make a statement redefining its aims and says that a negotiated Afghan-led political settlement with broad popular support represented "the only realistic option for long term security and stability". However while the security situation remained unstable, MPs accepted the current increased deployment was a "necessary prerequisite to any long term political settlement".