Blair: We will not abandon Afghanistan
There is “no alternative” but to continuing fighting for an end to terrorism and for economic development in Afghanistan, Tony Blair has said.
The prime minister was speaking on a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he met with British troops in the Helmand province and held talks with president Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul.
Mr Blair praised the “remarkable progress” made under the leadership of Mr Karzai – who noted that where just eight per cent of Afghans had access to basic healthcare before the US-led invasion in 2001, this had now grown to more than 80 per cent.
Both men acknowledged the violence in many parts of the country and the fact that in some regions, the narcotics trade was growing, not falling. But Mr Karzai said it would have been “naïve” to suggest Afghanistan’s drugs problem would be resolved so fast.
Mr Blair accepted that the challenges had proved more difficult than anticipated, saying: “I think we are wiser now to the fact, as I’ve been saying for the past few weeks, this is a generation-long struggle.”
He made clear that “I’m not saying we remain here for that amount of time” but said the roots of the Taliban and al-Qaida were deep in Afghanistan and was “going to take time to banish for good”.
And he stressed that Britain would continue to help in this fight, by providing troops but also in supporting reconstruction efforts.
He said: “We’ve got the same alternative we had five years ago. You either stick with it until the job is done or you don’t, and if you don’t then all you do is leave it to another generation to sort out and I’m not prepared to do that.”
Mr Blair praised the work of British troops in the south of Afghanistan, where 36 soldiers have died since operations began there in May, and said the challenge they faced from the Taliban and drugs barons was “very, very difficult”.
But he said: “Terrorists are going to try and test the will of Nato and the coalition as to whether we mean what we say and whether we’ll stick with it. We’ve got to prove to them that our will is greater than theirs.”
The prime minister added: “I’ve never had any hesitation in all of this because I don’t believe there’s any alternative but to fight this for as long as it takes.
“In the end we are prepared not just to fight but to make peace with reconstruction and economic development to show our way is better than theirs.”
