MP for North of Dorset visits British troops in Afghanistan

Bob Walter MP visited NATO forces at ISAF Headquarters in Kabul last week and met with British forces serving with NATO HQ and the Regional Command in the Kabul area.

In a 48-hour fact finding mission on the deployment of forces in Afghanistan, he flew into Kabul in his capacity as President of the European Security and Defence Assembly and was accompanied by the former Minister for the Armed Forces, Doug Henderson MP, and two French Members of Parliament.

During his visit Bob met with Lieutenant General Jim Dutton, the British deputy commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and his senior staff at ISAF HQ in Kabul. In a very packed schedule with high security, Bob also met the Afghan Minister of Defence, Abdul Rahim Wardak, and the Minister of the Interior, Ahmad Moqbel Zarar.

On Wednesday he was taken to the Kabul Military Training Centre, where allied service personnel are helping to train the Afghan Army. He later visited Camp Warehouse and met with British soldiers serving in the Regional Command Capital. He was briefed at Camp Warehouse by General Michel Stollsteiner.

Bob also met with the NATO Secretary General’s Representative, Ambassador Fernando Gentilini, the EU Special Representative, Ambassador Ettore Francesco Sequi and Christopher Alexander, the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. 

After the visit Bob said, “This was a very useful visit to meet both the NATO commanders and troops on the front line in the battle against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Since I last visited 3 years ago the security situation has deteriorated and everywhere I went I was in tight security in body armour and armour plated vehicles.

“There are now many more troops on the ground and the Afghan Army and Police are starting to make a real contribution to their own security and stability. I am, however, very depressed by the political situation and the long term prospects. 90 per cent of the heroin on the streets of Britain still originates in Afghanistan, where the government is still plagued by corruption and criminality. There is little prospect of any economic growth in the current security environment and little prospect of any government surviving without massive western military aid and financial assistance”.