Oral Answers to Questions

Philip Hollobone Excerpts

Monday 14th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Francois]

The reason we have been able to announce more than £1 billion of investment in equipment for our armed forces is the careful financial management we have had to undertake because of the financial train crash we inherited from Opposition Members.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

2. What policies he is pursuing to prevent political disintegration in Afghanistan similar to that occurring in Iraq after NATO forces leave.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)]

There are significant differences between Iraq and Afghanistan. Subject to the conclusion of a status of forces agreement with NATO, the alliance plans to continue to support the Afghan security forces and the Security Ministries as part of the Resolute Support mission. NATO countries reaffirmed the Chicago summit commitments of $4.1 billion a year towards Afghan national security force sustainment, helping to underpin the long-term stability of Afghanistan. We look forward to the status of forces agreement being completed as one of the first acts of the incoming Afghan President.

[Mr Hollobone]

Two things seem to have caught everyone by surprise in Iraq: the very poor intelligence picture that the west has had on the caliphate forces; and the fact that nobody seems to have understood how weak the response of the official Iraqi armed forces was going to be to the Sunni insurgency. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that those two big failures will not be repeated in Afghanistan?

[Mr Hammond]

It is important to note that the failure of the Iraqi security forces was a failure of political coherence, not a failure in combat. Where they engaged in combat, they performed adequately. It was where they failed to engage at all that the problem arose. We expect to have far better situational awareness in Afghanistan, because of the continuing engagement through Operation Resolute Support in that country.