Cameron hints at Afghanistan exit on visit to Kabul

www.timesonline.co.uk David Cameron said that he does not want British troops to stay a day longer than necessary as he flew into Afghanistan for the first time as Prime Minister today. On arrival - his fifth visit to the country - he gave his broadest hint yet that 10,000 UK troops would start to return home next year. Speaking at a press conference next to President Karzai, Mr Cameron said that this was ‘the vital year’ and the British public expected to see progress. A huge US-led military offensive is expected in the autumn, amid faltering attempts to get members of the Taleban to lay down their arms. "This is the vital year. This is the year when we have to make progress - progress for the sake of the Afghan people, but progress also on behalf of people back at home who want this to work," Mr Cameron said. "Nobody wants British troops to be in Afghanistan for a moment longer than is necessary," he added. "We should be asking all the time: 'Can we go faster?'" The Prime Minister touched down in Kabul hours after a bomb killed at least 39 at a wedding in the southern province of Kandahar, the single highest death toll from an incident since September. The visit also comes after a particularly difficult week for coalition forces with 23 international soldiers killed, including one British soldier in Helmand and four US servicemen killed when a Nato helicopter was shot down by insurgents. Mr Cameron admitted that not enough progress had been made in bringing security to Helmand, where the British have until recently been overseeing the military operation. He also said the initial justification for Nato forces going into Afghanistan no longer held true - “Clearly we have got rid of the terror training camps which were the reason we were there in the first place” - but said that Britain needed to continue to help the Afghan Government take responsibility for its own security. Mr Cameron also announced that he is committing an extra £67 million to help UK forces in Afghanistan counter the threat from home-made bombs. The funding will allow a doubling in the number of British teams dealing with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have become the Taleban’s most lethal weapon. He said: “My biggest duty as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is to our Armed Forces, to make sure that they have all the equipment and all the protection they need to do the absolutely vital job that they are doing here in Afghanistan. “I’m pleased to announce today that we will be spending an extra £67 million on countering the IED threat and actually doubling the number of British teams that are there to counter the threat from these explosive devices.” He added: “I’ve described this year - and the President, I know, agrees - in terms of the Nato mission in Afghanistan as the vital year. This is the year when we have to make progress - progress for the sake of the Afghan people, but progress also on behalf of people back at home who want this to work.” Mr Cameron said: “For me, the issue of Afghanistan is the most important foreign policy issue, the most important national security issue for my country.” He added: “I think there is progress being made, and we discussed that in our meeting, particularly progress that has been made in terms of driving al-Qaeda both out of Afghanistan and actually seriously damaging its interests in Pakistan. “It is through that prism of national security that I want to see this whole issue. Our overriding focus must be to help the Afghans and to help Afghanistan to take control of its own security and its own destiny. That should be our focus - a relentless focus on building up the Afghan National Army and helping the construction of a good and decent police force.” Mr Cameron said that alongside the Nato-led military surge which has been under way for six months, there must be a “proper political settlement”. He welcomed last week’s Kabul peace meeting - or jirga - at which Mr Karzai discussed proposals to encourage elements of the Taleban to rejoin the political mainstream. Mr Cameron flew in from Abu Dhabi, transferring from the airport in Kabul to the presidential palace by helicopter for meetings with Mr Karzai. The Prime Minister is being accompanied by Peter Ricketts, the new National Security Adviser, and Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defence staff. Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, are both visiting European capitals, which means that George Osborne is today the most senior government figure in the UK in the event of a major domestic incident. The coalition Government has been conducting a “deep dive” assessment of the military and aid effort in Afghanistan, now in its eighth year. Aides stressed that Mr Cameron’s visit was part of the reappraisal process and that the Prime Minister would concentrate on “taking stock”. However, with a US offensive planned in the Taleban heartland in the autumn and President Obama’s promise that some US troops will return home from July 2011, Mr Cameron has an opportunity to signal a corresponding drawdown of British troops. Mr Cameron has repeatedly said that he does not view the British military commitment as open-ended. In November he talked about imposing a “tight internal timetable”, while in April he said that Britain would put everything into the fight “this year and next year”. Mr Cameron has repeatedly said that he does not view the British military commitment as open-ended. In November he talked about imposing a "tight internal timetable", while in April he said that Britain would put everything into the fight "this year and next year". Asked whether he expected to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, he replied: "The issue of more troops is not remotely on the UK agenda. "We have just had quite a significant uplift, not just in terms of UK troops but also of US troops. In Helmand there are now over 20,000 US troops and 10,000 UK troops. I think it is important to let them get on with the very important work of delivering greater security in Helmand and making sure we have the right force density - the right number of troops - together with the Afghan national security forces throughout the province."