---

Troop Deployment (Afghanistan)

May I urge the Secretary of State to clarify tomorrow, if not today, what is becoming an artificial definition of the division of labour between allied forces in Afghanistan? The Americans are engaged in search and destroy anti-terrorism activities, and the proposed British deployment in the south would be engaged in reconstruction. That clear distinction is made in the House and among cognoscenti who discuss the subject, but people on the ground in Afghanistan make little or no distinction. One soldier is just like any other soldier. The Secretary of State should be robust and clear to the media that when we put our troops on the ground in Afghanistan, they will face genuine dangers. We should not shirk from that, as they are part of an overall effort to bring peace, reconstruction and democracy to that benighted country.