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Armed Forces Personnel

My hon. Friend makes a valid point, but that is where we get into the detail, which is beyond the scope of the debate. For example, the huge shortage of heavy airlift could be easily covered by participating countries, but it is too late now. We should have been thinking about that five or 10 years ago. Countries such as Denmark could then say, ““This will be our thing.”” The Czech Republic went down that route and became nuclear, biological and chemical warfare specialists. That is what it focused on. Poland has trained a lot of people to help with UN peacekeeping operations. That is the thing that it focused on. We could be doing that, but we need to get the heads around the table and review it. When we are on the battlefield in Afghanistan, it is too late to discover the limitations of the troops sent out there. That affects the rules of engagement that we are working under. I reiterate the calls—we have heard them today, and they were acknowledged by the Minister—for more troops in Afghanistan. If we look at the map of Afghanistan and the areas that NATO is covering, we see that an entire province next to Helmand does not contain a single international soldier. That shows the desperate need for more participation, which is vital. I look forward to hearing the statement from the Secretary of State for Defence. I presume that it will come in the next few days. I hope that there is no delay, because lives are at risk in Afghanistan. Turning to Afghanistan proper, there are few crises in the world today that are as complex. It has been wrecked by three decades of war and the organs of state are few and fragile. The nation’s authority is limited only to a few cities. In fact, it is too soon to call it a country. It is a patchwork quilt of ethnic groups, tribes and communities, thrown over a hostile and often barren land. That is the perfect existence for a nomad or a very small community, but also for a terrorist outfit as well, and it is a complete nightmare for those who are trying to go there to form an overall authority to link control. In an effort to expand his authority, President Karzai has developed unholy alliances with all those who can enforce order in the provinces in return for turning a blind eye to their misdeeds, past and present. The biggest challenge for Afghanistan is the fact so many people have been corrupt, but we are now trying to make them turn over a new leaf. We talk about Helmand province’s governor as though he is somehow in direct communication with Kabul. Helmand is a long way from the regional headquarters of Kandahar, which is another country away from Kabul. They are so remote from each other that it is a monumental challenge to get any form of authority, even at local community level. The power bases are in the town halls and the local assemblies—the jirgas—and the local tribal centres.