This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/defence-and-security-blog/2012/nov/26/afghanistan-britain-defence
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UK top brass in limbo - waiting for political masters to act | UK top brass in limbo - waiting for political masters to act |
| (4 months later) | |
| It is an extremely frustrating time for Britain's defence chiefs. They are waiting to get their troops out of Afghanistan, and they are waiting for the next round of cuts to bite. Jobs are being cut across the armed forces, the army in particular. | It is an extremely frustrating time for Britain's defence chiefs. They are waiting to get their troops out of Afghanistan, and they are waiting for the next round of cuts to bite. Jobs are being cut across the armed forces, the army in particular. |
| They do not know what kit they will have at their disposal to train and fight - though it should be said they are in no hurry to mount a new military operation. | They do not know what kit they will have at their disposal to train and fight - though it should be said they are in no hurry to mount a new military operation. |
| All the decisions they are waiting for are political, they stress. | All the decisions they are waiting for are political, they stress. |
| Their frustrations were reflected in a recent lecture General Sir David Richards, chief of the defence staff, gave to Oxford University's department of politics and international relations. | Their frustrations were reflected in a recent lecture General Sir David Richards, chief of the defence staff, gave to Oxford University's department of politics and international relations. |
| Richards said ministers had cut the armed forces' numbers and resources without reducing their demands for operations. "We have a whole load of tasks expected of us. Our political masters are quite happy to reduce the size of the armed forces, but their appetite to exercise influence on the world stage is, quite understandably, the same as it has always been", Richards said. | Richards said ministers had cut the armed forces' numbers and resources without reducing their demands for operations. "We have a whole load of tasks expected of us. Our political masters are quite happy to reduce the size of the armed forces, but their appetite to exercise influence on the world stage is, quite understandably, the same as it has always been", Richards said. |
| "Often politicians say to me, 'Can you go and do this?' I say to them, 'With what?' " He added: "If you reduce your armed forces, there is going to be a give — something gives." | "Often politicians say to me, 'Can you go and do this?' I say to them, 'With what?' " He added: "If you reduce your armed forces, there is going to be a give — something gives." |
| On Afghanistan, Britain's most senior military officer — who commanded Nato forces at the time of the British surge to Helmand in 2006 — said western leaders had "collectively failed" by wasting the opportunity won by years of costly military operations. | On Afghanistan, Britain's most senior military officer — who commanded Nato forces at the time of the British surge to Helmand in 2006 — said western leaders had "collectively failed" by wasting the opportunity won by years of costly military operations. |
| "All the military can do is buy space and time and opportunity for a political resolution of a problem. It is a great shame that we have not understood this." | "All the military can do is buy space and time and opportunity for a political resolution of a problem. It is a great shame that we have not understood this." |
| The chiefs of staff publicly avoid answering questions about what they think of the decision to build two large aircraft carriers for the navy or plans to build a new fleet of Trident nuclear missile submarines. Those decisions, they say, are entirely "political". | The chiefs of staff publicly avoid answering questions about what they think of the decision to build two large aircraft carriers for the navy or plans to build a new fleet of Trident nuclear missile submarines. Those decisions, they say, are entirely "political". |
| But Richards, according to reports of his Oxford lecture, made it clear he was worried about a shortage of relevant resources to meet the needs of practical and current operations. | But Richards, according to reports of his Oxford lecture, made it clear he was worried about a shortage of relevant resources to meet the needs of practical and current operations. |
| "One of my biggest concerns is the number of frigates and destroyers the navy has," he said. Pointing to the EU's counter piracy operation, he continued: "You get to this ridiculous situation where in Operation Atalanta off the Somali coast, we have £1 bn destroyers trying to sort out pirates in a little dhow with RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] costing $50, with an outboard motor [costing] $100," he said. | "One of my biggest concerns is the number of frigates and destroyers the navy has," he said. Pointing to the EU's counter piracy operation, he continued: "You get to this ridiculous situation where in Operation Atalanta off the Somali coast, we have £1 bn destroyers trying to sort out pirates in a little dhow with RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] costing $50, with an outboard motor [costing] $100," he said. |
| "That can't be good. We've got to sort it out." | "That can't be good. We've got to sort it out." |
| Richards' lecture was reported on 14 November in the Daily Telegraph. Two days later, the former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown said British forces must withdraw from Afghanistan as quickly as possible before any more troops are killed. | Richards' lecture was reported on 14 November in the Daily Telegraph. Two days later, the former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown said British forces must withdraw from Afghanistan as quickly as possible before any more troops are killed. |
| "We cannot pretend there is any more to do in Afghanistan", he told the Times newspaper in an interview. "The urgent priority is to get out. It is not worth wasting one more life in Afghanistan. All that we can achieve has now been achieved. All that we might have achieved if we had done things differently, has been lost." | "We cannot pretend there is any more to do in Afghanistan", he told the Times newspaper in an interview. "The urgent priority is to get out. It is not worth wasting one more life in Afghanistan. All that we can achieve has now been achieved. All that we might have achieved if we had done things differently, has been lost." |
| Ashdown continued: "The only rational policy now is to leave quickly, in good order and in the company of our allies. This is the only cause for which further lives should be risked." | Ashdown continued: "The only rational policy now is to leave quickly, in good order and in the company of our allies. This is the only cause for which further lives should be risked." |
| This was a significant intervention from a former Royal Marine Commando, member of the Special Boat Service, and of Britain's foreign intelligence service. | This was a significant intervention from a former Royal Marine Commando, member of the Special Boat Service, and of Britain's foreign intelligence service. |
| Britain's armed forces seem to be on a hiding to nothing in Afghanistan and want to get out, at least as far as combat operations are concerned, as soon as possible. They are waiting for ministers, after advice from the National Security Council, to decide when the 10,000 British troops in Helmand should leave, and how quickly, between now and the end of 2014, when all Nato troops will cease combat operations in Afghanistan. | Britain's armed forces seem to be on a hiding to nothing in Afghanistan and want to get out, at least as far as combat operations are concerned, as soon as possible. They are waiting for ministers, after advice from the National Security Council, to decide when the 10,000 British troops in Helmand should leave, and how quickly, between now and the end of 2014, when all Nato troops will cease combat operations in Afghanistan. |
| The British government is in a hurry, and since Britain is supposed to synchronise its moves with the US, it wants Barack Obama to take a decision rather more quickly than is his wont. | The British government is in a hurry, and since Britain is supposed to synchronise its moves with the US, it wants Barack Obama to take a decision rather more quickly than is his wont. |
| The army is already planning a massive extraction operation, the biggest, it says, in a generation. It will involve the removal from southern Afghanistan of 20,000, 20-foot, containers, Lt Gen Richard Barrons, deputy chief of staff responsible for military strategy and operations, told the Commons defence committee last week. | The army is already planning a massive extraction operation, the biggest, it says, in a generation. It will involve the removal from southern Afghanistan of 20,000, 20-foot, containers, Lt Gen Richard Barrons, deputy chief of staff responsible for military strategy and operations, told the Commons defence committee last week. |
| Asked if he seriously believed that by 1 January 2015 Afghan security forces will be sustainable, Lt Gen David Capewell, the UK's chief of joint operations, told the committee earlier it was " an assumption we have to make". | Asked if he seriously believed that by 1 January 2015 Afghan security forces will be sustainable, Lt Gen David Capewell, the UK's chief of joint operations, told the committee earlier it was " an assumption we have to make". |
| Mark Sedwill, Britain's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Foreign Office's political director, said it would take a generation to root out corruption in the country, and the same length of time to rid the country of narcotics. | Mark Sedwill, Britain's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Foreign Office's political director, said it would take a generation to root out corruption in the country, and the same length of time to rid the country of narcotics. |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |