UK Foreign Secretary Hague says progress in Afghanistan is his "top priority"

[News_Editor]

UK Foreign Secretary Hague says progress in Afghanistan is his "top priority"

2010-10-27 22:09:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- UK Foreign Secretary William Hague on Wednesday said his government's top foreign policy is to achieve progress in Afghanistan.

Hague said so in his quarterly report on Afghanistan to the House of Commons, saying it is vital to Britain's national security that the war-torn country is able to maintain its own security to prevent al-Qaeda from returning.

"Making progress in Afghanistan is the top foreign policy priority for the Government, linked closely of course to our foreign and development policy towards Pakistan," Hague told the House of Commons. "It is right, therefore, that Parliament is able to scrutinize the mission in Afghanistan in detail. From the beginning of the new Government we have given full attention to Afghanistan in the National Security Council."

The Foreign Secretary said the government has ensured that its departments and ministers are working together at the highest level and that necessary resources are being devoted to the 'difficult task' in Afghanistan.

"We have doubled the operational allowance for our troops, sharply increased our development aid and rebalanced the deployment of our forces in Helmand," Hague said. "In addition to these reports and regular updates by Ministers, we will also make more information available to the House in the form of Written Ministerial Statements each month from November."

Hague also promised to make a further statement when the investigation into the death of Linda Norgrove is complete.

Linda Norgrove, 36, originally from Scotland, was kidnapped along with three of her colleagues in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province on September 26 after they were ambushed. Her colleagues were soon safely released.

Several days later, coalition forces launched an operation to try to secure her freedom. During the course of the operation, however, Norgrove was injured from what may have been a grenade thrown by U.S. forces.

Hague also thanked and expressed his gratitude to Britain's armed forces, saying they are the finest any nation could hope to have. "We should also remember the families of the 341 men and women who have given their lives and the many who have been wounded," he said. "For nine years, thousands of Britons have served in Afghanistan in both civilian and military roles in extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and we owe them a great deal."

The Foreign Secretary said it remains 'vital' to Britain's national security that Afghanistan is able to maintain its own security and prevent al-Qaeda from returning. "NATO's strategy is to protect the civilian population, support more effective government at every level and build up the Afghan National Security Forces as rapidly as is possible," he said. "It also requires the Afghan Government to meet the commitments on governance and security that it made at the Kabul Conference in July this year."

On security, Hague assessed that 'steady progress' is being made across Afghanistan and specifically in Helmand and Kandahar Provinces. "International forces now number 130,000 while the Afghan National Security Forces will reach 260,000 by the end of the year, exceeding their target size for 2010, he said, even though the number of coalition casualties has risen sharply this year.

"Afghan and ISAF forces have checked the momentum of the insurgency and the area under the control of the Government of Afghanistan is increasing," Hague added. "However the situation remains extremely challenging. One of the effects of increased military activity is that the number of security incidents, particularly those involving direct fire, has increased sharply. So we should not underestimate the highly difficult task our forces continue to face."

Hague said ISAF's military efforts are currently focused on Kandahar province, which remains extremely dangerous for coalition forces. "Afghan and international forces continue to clear the insurgency out of areas adjacent to the provincial capital," he said. "Afghan Security Forces are taking an increased role in planning and executing the current phase of these operations and make up well over half the forces involved. In the coming weeks operations will focus on holding the ground that has been gained and providing a secure environment for local Afghan governance to develop."

Additionally, British forces continue to train the Afghan National Security Forces in Helmand province and conduct operations against the insurgency. "We are increasing the number of UK troops directly involved in the training and development of the Afghan National Security Forces by over 320," Hague said. "This increase is part of the re-balancing of UK forces in the province and has been made possible by the handover of security responsibility for Kajaki, Musa Qala and Sangin to our US allies, in order to concentrate British forces in the key population centers of central Helmand."

He added: "US Marines, which now form the majority of the ISAF troops in Helmand, continue the hard fought struggle against the insurgency in Sangin while in Marjah they have continued to carry out operations alongside the Afghan National Army and Police."

Hague said the UK government is confident that it has the right military strategy in place and the right number of troops in Afghanistan. "However," he warned, "we must expect levels of violence to remain high, and even increase, as Afghan and ISAF forces tackle the insurgency."

"The murders by insurgents of the Governor of Kunduz Province and a District Governor in Nangahar Province reminds us of the violence that still exists, even in the more secure areas of the country," he added.

Kunduz governor Mohammad Omar was killed earlier this month while visiting the Shirkat mosque in neighboring Takhar province. He was among scores of others who were killed at the holy place, marking another blow to the Afghan government.

Hague said he expects NATO to soon agree on the process of transferring lead responsibility for security across Afghanistan to Afghan Security Forces by the end of 2014. "It will be a phased transition with the Afghan Security Forces gradually taking the lead, as they have in Kabul, in jointly selected districts and provinces, as the conditions on the ground are met," he said. "British forces will be drawn down from combat operations by 2015."

But Hague also welcomed that the Afghan government has made some progress on its commitments made at the Kabul Conference this summer. "The Human Rights Support Unit in the Ministry of Justice has been opened," he said. "The Afghan National Security Adviser has approved a revised National Security Policy. The Government is finalizing a 100 day report which will highlight progress and areas where further action is needed. But more still needs to be done, some of it more quickly," he cautioned.

Furthermore, Hague said, last month's parliamentary elections passed without major security incidents. However, Hague noted the disqualification of more than a million votes on grounds of irregularities and fraud.

"The Electoral Complaints Commission will investigate allegations against candidates and disqualify those found to have committed fraud before final results are issued," he said. "This is an important process to build Afghan confidence in their country’s institutions."

Earlier this month, the High Peace Council was inaugurated in Afghanistan, fulfilling a key request of the Afghan Consultative Peace Jirga in June. "It marks an important milestone for the Afghan Peace and Re-integration Program," Hague said. "It is for the Afghan people to shape a political settlement which reflects the needs, culture and aspirations of all the Afghan people. The United Kingdom will support a settlement which gives Afghanistan stability and security; is representative; gives no one group disproportionate influence; upholds human rights and the rule of law and is in accordance with Afghanistan's Constitutional framework."

The Foreign Secretary pledged to work with individuals and groups who genuinely share these aims and who accept the conditions laid down by President Karzai's Government: insurgents must renounce Al Qaeda, give up armed struggle and work within the Afghan Constitutional framework.

But at the same time, corruption continues to be a serious problem in Afghanistan and Hague said there has been only modest progress in anti-corruption efforts. "In the last year the Criminal Justice Task Force convicted 440 people including serious narcotics dealers and corrupt officials," he said. "New mining regulations have been introduced to increase transparency and accountability. The UK is helping the Afghan Government to strengthen accountability and prevent corruption through financial management reforms and to build institutions with the ability to tackle corruption and enforce the rule of law. We are pressing for the anti-corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which has been appointed, to start work as soon as possible."

In early September, Afghanistan's Central Bank was forced to intervene to stabilize the Kabul Bank after allegations of corruption. "The Afghan authorities must now work with the IMF to conduct a proper audit and take any necessary action. Weaknesses in the banking regulatory system must be addressed if Afghanistan is to maintain domestic and foreign public confidence," he added.

Additionally, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's older brother could soon be facing a tax evasion indictment in the United States, according to media reports earlier this month.

The Washington Post cited an unidentified U.S. official as saying that prosecutors are considering an indictment against Mahmoud Karzai in relation to an alleged $64,000 tax evasion.

Mahmoud Karzai, who is a U.S. citizen, is part of a corruption probe handled by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Besides the tax evasion charges, he could also face charges of racketeering and/or extortion.

The tax evasion charges follow reports that Mahmoud Karzai made at least $800,000 by buying and reselling a villa in Dubai through a loan from the Kabul Bank. However, Mahmoud Karzai was one of the third biggest shareholders in the bank that nearly collapsed in September after a run by depositors.

Mahmoud Karzai continues to deny any wrongdoing, however. "I know myself. I'm very clean," he told The Washington Post. "Whatever was due, I paid it," he added, stating he recently paid the U.S. government $301,000 to cover capital-gains.

Last year, the Afghan economy grew by a rapid 22.5 percent and tax revenues have risen six fold in six years. The IMF predicts that the Government of Afghanistan will be able to cover non security running costs by 2015 and all its running costs by 2023.

Finally, Hague told the House that the deployment of British Armed Forces abroad is one of the gravest responsibilities of the UK government, along with that of protecting the security of British citizens and territory. "In Afghanistan the two go hand in hand," he said. "The Government understands how important it is to retain public confidence in our mission and to ensure democratic scrutiny of it. We will continue to provide regular and frank assessments to the House. But above all we will do our utmost to ensure that NATO’s strategy in Afghanistan is seen through with rigour and determination and that the extraordinary efforts of so many thousands of our Armed Forces serve to enhance the national security of the United Kingdom."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-10-27