ID :
26724
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 23:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/26724
The shortlink copeid
Britain confident of crushing Taliban
London, Oct 26 (PTI) Britain, whose troops are part of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan has said it will be possible to crush the Taliban and bring the war-torn nation back on the path of development, but it will be long way off.
"I think we have to realise we're in for a long haul.
It will be years before the Taliban are crushed and could well
be decades before our other objectives are achieved," U.K.'s
new Defence Secretary John Hutton told The Sunday Times.
Asserting that aims of development cannot be achieved
unless insurgency is dealt with, Hutton said, "You have got to
deal with the insurgency first and foremost."
Unless there's security, not just in Kabul but the
rest of the country, you can put in all the social investment
and economic development you like - it's not going to work, he
said.
"If you construct a school and the Taliban turn up a
month later and bulldoze the building you've built, then
you're back to square one," he exemplified.
Claiming that the morale of the British military is
"extraordinarily high," the new Defence Secretary said, "We
are pulling more than our weight."
Calling for a fair and appropriate sharing of the
troop burden across Nato countries he said, "if more troops
are needed Nato allies should supply them."
Turning to another topic, Hutton extended his support
to French plans to strengthen European defence capacity to be
able to deploy 60,000 troops including air and naval forces
within 60 days by 2018.
"I think we've got to be pragmatic about those things.
If we can support it, we should" he said, adding, it was
"perfectly sensible" to work with European Union (E.U.) allies
on such issues.
Criticising some parts of British politics for their
Eurosceptic strain, U.K.'s new Defence Secretary said, "I'm
not one of those E.U. haters who think anything to do with the
E.U. must by definition be terrible....I think frankly those
kind of views are pathetic."
"Britain's role in the world is to be part of those
alliances. People who don't understand that don't understand
the nature of the modern world."
Hutton, who replaced Des Browne following a reshuffle
of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet this month,
reportedly shared a strained relationship with Brown in the
past. PTI
"I think we have to realise we're in for a long haul.
It will be years before the Taliban are crushed and could well
be decades before our other objectives are achieved," U.K.'s
new Defence Secretary John Hutton told The Sunday Times.
Asserting that aims of development cannot be achieved
unless insurgency is dealt with, Hutton said, "You have got to
deal with the insurgency first and foremost."
Unless there's security, not just in Kabul but the
rest of the country, you can put in all the social investment
and economic development you like - it's not going to work, he
said.
"If you construct a school and the Taliban turn up a
month later and bulldoze the building you've built, then
you're back to square one," he exemplified.
Claiming that the morale of the British military is
"extraordinarily high," the new Defence Secretary said, "We
are pulling more than our weight."
Calling for a fair and appropriate sharing of the
troop burden across Nato countries he said, "if more troops
are needed Nato allies should supply them."
Turning to another topic, Hutton extended his support
to French plans to strengthen European defence capacity to be
able to deploy 60,000 troops including air and naval forces
within 60 days by 2018.
"I think we've got to be pragmatic about those things.
If we can support it, we should" he said, adding, it was
"perfectly sensible" to work with European Union (E.U.) allies
on such issues.
Criticising some parts of British politics for their
Eurosceptic strain, U.K.'s new Defence Secretary said, "I'm
not one of those E.U. haters who think anything to do with the
E.U. must by definition be terrible....I think frankly those
kind of views are pathetic."
"Britain's role in the world is to be part of those
alliances. People who don't understand that don't understand
the nature of the modern world."
Hutton, who replaced Des Browne following a reshuffle
of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Cabinet this month,
reportedly shared a strained relationship with Brown in the
past. PTI
