Conditional Support
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Posted
by Douglas Barrie at
11/6/2009 7:19 AM CST
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If the Afghan government fails to tackle critical issues such as corruption and improving its military performance then it will “have forfeited its right to international support” is the warning from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Brown used the platform of a speech at the Royal College of Defense Studies, November 6, to reiterate the case for continuing British involvement. Part of his problem is that in the UK there are those who argue the Afghan government has already forfeited this right. There is also increasing domestic discomfit over the war, particularly the cost in terms of British casualties.
It is self-evident that the UK will remain in Afghanistan only as long as the U.S. continues to prosecute its campaign against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Even this commitment, however, could be undermined were domestic opposition to grow.
Brown maintains that the war is being “prosecuted out of necessity and not choice.” The most effective means of tackling the threat to UK domestic security is at “the source.” Brown told the audience that 75% of terrorist plots targeting the UK start in the Afghanistan region.
Brown set out five key areas which the Afghan government needs to address quickly as it begins a second term in office, one of these being the area of governance.
The British prime minister said that “sadly” the Afghan government had become a “byword for corruption” and that this must be addressed. The other four “tests” are those of: security, reconciliation, economic development, and engagement with its neighboring states.
