Cameron sets out new strategy for Afghanistan
Updated on 14 June 2010
The prime minister is expected to outline a change of strategy for Afghanistan alongside a possible timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from the country in a speech today.
The news comes after Defence Secretary Liam Fox revealed yesterday that the head of the armed forces, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, is to step down early in the autumn, following a strategic defence review.
David Cameron will deliver a statement to MPs today, on the back of his first official visit to Afghanistan as prime minister last week.
His two-day visit, during which he described 2010 as the 'vital year' for the UK in Afghanistan, was followed by the death of a British soldier last night - one of three Britons and 32 Nato troops to be killed in the last week alone.
31 year old Lance Corporal Andrew Breeze from Manchester, died while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Saturday.
His family said: "We are very proud of a brave, loving and sincere son and brother. The Army was his life. He is going to be desperately missed by his family and his fiancee."
Breeze, from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, who had been in the army for 14 years, was working to clear an area near a checkpoint when he died.
The number of British soliders killed in Afghanistan is nearing 300.
Whilst in Afghanistan David Cameron said he wanted to "make real progress this year", adding "we should all the time be asking, 'Can we go further, can we go faster?'".
Fuelling hopes that Britain's 10,000-strong force in Afghanistan may be closer to coming home, Cameron said: "Nobody wants British troops to be in Afghanistan a moment longer than is necessary."
US president Barack Obama has instigated a "surge" of troops which he has given US commander General Stanley McChrystal until the end of the year to assess. Cameron said last week that the influx must be given time to show results.
Touting Afghanistan as his number one foreign policy priority, Cameron's visit came after welcoming President Hamid Karzai at Chequers and meetings with US defence secretary Robert Gates and Central Command chief General David Petraeus in Downing Street.
The meetings, alongside the early withdrawal of Sir Jock from the top job, have given way to speculation that Cameron is to announce major policy changes.
New foreign secretary William Hague has denied claims that Sir Jock's departure indicates that he is among those blamed for excessive spending on Ministry of Defence procurement and the under-resourcing of the Afghan mission.
Among those being suggested as a possible replacement for Sir Jock Stirrup is the Army chief General Sir David Richards who last week reinforced the view that this is the critical year when he said the mission in Afghanistan had to take precedence over "future projected possibilities" in defence spending.
General Richards said: ''While Afghanistan is not the template on which to base the future, it is most certainly a signpost for much of what that future might contain.
''There must be a balance between current operational priorities and future capabilities.
''When they conflict, we must resource those current known requirements over future projected possibilities.''
