Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Northern Ireland Office

Oral Answers to Questions

John Baron Excerpts
Wednesday 10th November 2010

(14 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Baron Portrait Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
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Successful counter-insurgency operations in the past, such as in Malaya, suggest that not one of the preconditions for success—control of borders, good troop density levels, a credible Government, and support of the majority of the population—exists in Afghanistan. Does this not beg for a more realistic assessment of the situation?

Nick Clegg Portrait The Deputy Prime Minister
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We have sought to introduce a strong element of realism, not only in the extra resources and support that are required for our troops in Afghanistan, but in the recognition—I think this is the implication of the question—that there is not a military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan. There must be a marriage of a military strategy, which applies pressure on insurgents who want to disrupt the peaceful co-existence of communities and people in Afghanistan, with a political process of reintegration and reconciliation, so that we can leave Afghanistan—