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CommentIsLinked@LDV: Nick Clegg – Afghanistan: We’re asking our troops to do the impossible

By | Thu 9th July 2009 - 5:30 pm

Over at the Daily Telegraph Nick Clegg argues is time for a new strategy and fresh commitment to Afghanistan. Here’s an excerpt:

As leader of the Liberal Democrats, I have been keen to maintain the cross-party consensus on Afghanistan that formed after September 11, and has not faltered since. But recent events have led me to question, for the first time, whether we’re going about things in the right way. I am concerned that we are simply not giving our troops the means to do their difficult job. We must not will the ends without being prepared to will the means.

I am a Liberal interventionist, who believes military action is justified when supported by reason and the law. I support the aim of our mission wholeheartedly: to stop Afghanistan reverting to a haven for terrorism, with its people oppressed and impoverished. To achieve that, military forces need to create enough space for stability and good governance to take root.

But we need to ask whether the Government has the will, strategy or tactics to do the job properly.

You can read the article in full HERE.

And you can watch Nick’s BBC interview on the issue below:

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