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Afghanistan

My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, said there is a thread of optimism running through the Prime Minister’s Statement. It is sobering to think that Gladstone would probably have recognised most of the analysis and problems, for the history of Afghanistan has been one of sucking in, involving and frustrating great empires. Nevertheless, I thank the noble Baroness the Lord President for the Statement. I associate myself with the tributes paid by noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, both to the dead and to those returning from war zones with injuries that they will carry for the rest of their lives. The Prime Minister’s frontline visit is also extremely welcome. We all pay tribute to the professionalism, courage and bravery of British service personnel. The strategy and the length of time are worrying. It is very brave to say that we are isolating and eliminating, and not negotiating, but how much has changed since the Defence Select Committee’s scathing analysis of the military situation in Afghanistan? I echo the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde: one of the problems in winning the hearts and minds of the British people to this venture is the puzzlement that if we are fighting a just cause against a monstrous enemy—and anybody who looks at the Taliban’s record as is spelt out in the Statement would share that analysis—then why are so few of our allies willing to come to the sharp end with us and fight the battle? It is damaging to the whole cause. The Prime Minister’s statement in the other place that he will raise the question at the NATO meeting in Romania at Easter lacks urgency. I welcome the suggestion from the Conservative Benches and hope that the Prime Minister raises the prospect of greater EU co-operation at the EU summit. More enthusiasm from him about defence co-operation might help. Have we really got a hearts-and-minds strategy that is fully co-ordinated and targeted? That will be important, if we are going to stick with this for any length of time. We are told that the problem of the poppy crop is difficult. There is some element of being dammed if we do and damned if we don’t deal with it ruthlessly. The Statement does not offer any direct solutions, other than Helmand is particularly difficult. It is not just the overall level of defence spending that has been raised, but also the question of whether we are concentrating that spending in the right areas to guarantee the equipment for fighting this type of war. Finally, the Statement underlines the need to involve neighbours. We know of the problems in Pakistan. This also raises the issue of Iran. Is Iran part of the problem, as the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, seemed to suggest, or is it part of the solution? We certainly need to explore what can be done with Iran. I am not optimistic. When such Statements are made, there is always a temptation for the House to rally around the flag and the troops. However, when we in Parliament send troops into such a dangerous and bleak land with such a dangerous and bleak history, we have a duty to be absolutely sure that we know how long we are sending them for and what we are asking them to do. As my noble friend Lord Ashdown has repeatedly pointed out, there is the need for a policy directed towards hearts and minds that matches the military effort, because the military effort alone cannot solve this problem.