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Johnstone's View 11th September 2009

With the news last week that another two brave young Scottish soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan, the minds of many people have turned once again to the need for our involvement in this far distant foreign conflict and the lives which are being lost there.  It would seem that we have come to the point where public opinion is turning against the war and some politicians, with a range of motives, are beginning to lose their conviction.

While the United Kingdom has, over the centuries, been involved in a number of colonial expeditions which led to conflict, the parts of our military tradition, of which we should be most proud, are when we have come together to face direct threats to our nation’s borders. It has been our policy for over 200 years to meet these threats on foreign soil and, wherever possible, protect our country from direct attack.

Thankfully, through the work of the United Nations, NATO and the intervention of a few inspired individuals, the military threat to our country has diminished over the years. We have continued to be challenged by the military adventurism of dictators across the world. At the same time, however, a very different and more sinister threat has emerged.

The experience of Iraq should have taught us an unforgettable lesson.   Having worked with other Islamic nations in 1991 to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, western governments lacked the courage and the leadership to stabilise the region and chose, foolishly in my view, to end the war with Sadam Hussain still in an unchallengeable position of power. That decision was paid for with the lives of hundreds of thousand of Iraqis and ultimately, with the lives of many more British troops when we had to fight the war all over again ten years later.

The subsequent occupation of that country should also teach us lessons about how we must deal with the problems we now find ourselves with in Afghanistan.   Five years ago, some British politicians proposed that, for a second time, we should leave Iraq and allow the Iraqi people to each others mercy. Now, five years later, those who showed the courage and leadership needed to see the mission through have been proved right and our troops have left that country permanently.

Meanwhile, the same siren voices have turned their attention to Afghanistan, questioning our involvement and weakening our resolve. This time though, they are unable to question our motives because Afghanistan has no oil.   Neither can they claim that we are not in danger from that region, as another group of terrorists who may have succeeded in killing hundreds of innocent people, were caught and convicted this week.

Neither must we be persuaded to scale back our commitment. Any reduction in the number of British troops in Afghanistan at this difficult moment will simply result in those who are left there coming under greater threat and the loss of even more lives. We must also begin to address the equipment shortages which have embarrassed our commanders in the field and endangered the safety of troops on the ground. While we argue for better armoured vehicles to provide protection from roadside bombs, American troops travel by helicopter where possible.

We must make sure that our soldiers have the tools they need, including more helicopters, more heavily armoured vehicles and more transport aircraft. This equipment already exists so we must ask why it has not been allocated to this top military priority.

We are in Afghanistan to stop terrorism here in Britain. We must help the Afghans to stop their country from being used as a base for terrorism. To achieve this we must train and equip the Afghan army to enforce the rule of law, and we must support them till they are able to do the job themselves. Only when these objectives have been achieved, will we be able to bring our troops home to a Britain where it is safe to walk in the street or use public transport.

To achieve these things, we must have politicians who are able to show the same courage and leadership being demonstrated by our army.

This week was the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War. It is a good time to remember all those who fought, died and sacrificed for our country. Our service men and women are doing a tremendous job and I am confident that they can achieve real success in the near future.

It is our job to give them the respect, the admiration and the support they deserve.