---

Defence Policy

I beg to move,"That this House has considered the matter of defence policy." Defence policy is about delivering security for the people of this country, including security against terrorism, and being a force for good by strengthening international peace and stability. The Ministry of Defence and the nation's armed forces do this in two ways: first, by ensuring that, within planned resources, we have the military capability needed to meet the Government's policy aims; and, secondly, by delivering military effect on operations. Therefore, I would like to address my remarks today, first, to the delivery of our operation in Afghanistan and, secondly, to how we are preparing our armed forces for the future, including procurement and acquisition reform. I know that all in this House and across the country hold our armed forces in the highest regard and have deep respect for their commitment and professionalism. Yesterday, we paid tribute to those who died over the summer. Some 221 members of the armed forces have lost their lives in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001 and many more have been injured, some with life-changing injuries. For their families, friends and comrades that is a heavy price to bear. This year alone, the NATO-led coalition has suffered 409 fatalities, with the United States bearing the brunt. In particular, I should like to pay tribute to those who fight alongside the UK forces in Helmand and have done so over this difficult summer in Operation Panther's Claw—they include the forces of Denmark and Estonia. We are in this together: 42 nations are represented in the international security assistance force, working side by side with the Afghans, under a United Nations mandate and at the invitation of the Afghan Government. The Afghans themselves are paying an extremely high price; many hundreds of members of the Afghan national security forces have lost their lives this year. Last week, in St. Paul's cathedral, we paid tribute to the achievements of British troops in Iraq, where 179 of our people lost their lives. I am pleased to report to the House that, on Tuesday, the Iraqi Council of Representatives gave our bilateral agreement on naval training and maritime support its third and final reading. I shall keep the House informed of progress as we conclude that agreement, through which we will provide ongoing training to the Iraqi navy at Umm Qasr, in southern Iraq. Alongside our role in leading the training of Iraqi officers in the Baghdad area, that will be an important component of a broad-based bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Iraq. With the end of combat operations in Iraq, our effort in Afghanistan is the main one. Our presence there is supported by all parties in the House. I have looked closely at the statements and the speeches of Opposition Front Benchers and have found that there is a great deal of consensus in what we say. We agree that our forces are in Afghanistan primarily for reasons of national security. We agree that we operate in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from returning to power and, again, giving al-Qaeda free rein. We agree that our approach must be regional and that our strategy must focus on Pakistan as well, so that we tackle the violent extremism in the area as a whole. Pakistan's armed forces have dealt the Pakistani Taliban a severe blow in the Swat valley, and are looking to take on the insurgents and their leadership in South Waziristan. As I heard when I visited the Pakistan army headquarters in Islamabad just over a week ago, Pakistan has paid a heavy price for taking on the violent extremists. We should recognise the efforts that Pakistan's forces are making and the sacrifice that is being made. In this House, we agree that, unlike Pakistan, Afghanistan does not yet have the capacity to resist the Taliban-led insurgency on its own. We agree that building Afghanistan's capacity to do that will mean that, over time, we will be able to reduce our military commitment, which is why we agree to focus on the training and the partnering of the Afghan security forces. We agree that the security space provided by NATO operations must be used to build and develop Afghan governance in order to give the Afghan people a stake in their own future and to help them to turn their backs on the Taliban-led insurgency. We agree that military and development operations must be backed up by a political strategy that bears down on the insurgency and begins the process of reconciliation. We agree that the consequences of failure in Afghanistan would be disastrous: it would be seen as a victory for the violent extremists, increasing the threat of terrorism back here at home; it would destabilise a particularly sensitive region, including nuclear-armed Pakistan; it would seriously undermine NATO, which has been the bedrock of our defence for the past 60 years; and it would damage the reputation of Britain's armed forces and call into question the ability of the UK Government to project power in the future. Let us be clear that sustained pressure on al-Qaeda in Pakistan, combined with military action in Afghanistan, is having a suppressive effect on al-Qaeda. A peaceful and stable Afghanistan would be a strategic failure for al-Qaeda. Three quarters of the most serious terror plots against the UK have their roots in the border and mountain areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan, so the success of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan is therefore of critical importance to the security of British citizens and to UK interests.