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| The Prime Minister met troops on the front line of the war in Afghanistan |
David Cameron travelled to Afghanistan to pay tribute to the work of British troops on Armed Forces Day.
The Prime Minister made an unannounced visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand
Province where he met troops on the front line, dined with them in
their living quarters and took control of a bomb disposal robot.
He also met Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai in the capital Kabul
amid faltering efforts to engage the Taliban in a political process of
reconciliation.
Mr Cameron's trip to Afghanistan followed comments made by General Nick
Carter, a senior British Army officer and deputy commander of the
International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).
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| The Prime Minister holds a press conference with President Karzai |
Gen Carter told The Guardian there may have been opportunities to bring
the Taliban to the negotiating table more than a decade ago.
"The problems that we have been encountering over the period since then
are essentially political problems, and political problems are only
ever solved by people talking to each other," he said.
Speaking in Lashkar Gah, Mr Cameron told Sky News: "I think you can
argue about whether the settlement we put in place after 2001 could have
been better arranged.
"Of course you can make that argument. Since I became Prime Minister in
2010 I have been pushing all the time for a political process and that
political process is now under way.
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| Mr Cameron was shown some of the latest surveillance equipment |
"But at the same time I know that you cannot bank on that, which is why
we have built up the Afghan army, built up the Afghan police, supported
the Afghan government so that after our troops have left ... this
country shouldn't be a haven for terrorists."
Mr Cameron, who later moved on to Pakistan for talks with President
Asif Ali Zardari, also told soldiers about plans for a permanent
memorial to those who have lost their lives in Afghanistan since 2001.
The monument for the 444 British personnel killed in the conflict will
be built at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and will be
funded by fines paid by banks following the Libor scandal.
Meanwhile, a senior British military source suggested that Nato forces
would need to assist the Afghans for up to five years after the combat
role ends in 2014.
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| The Prime Minister joined British troops for a meal at Camp Bastion |
The British military have committed to running an academy for Afghan
officers but the source suggested that Nato could also be required to
help with close air support, casualty evacuation and logistics.
A senior No 10 source said it will be for the National Security Council
to decide what the UK's ongoing role would be but added: "We have done
our fair share."
"The Prime Minister has been clear that we have paid a heavy price and already given a lot," he said.
"Our combat troops will leave at the end of next year.
"The only military commitments we have made beyond 2014 are to part-run
the officer academy and to provide financial support to sustain Afghan
forces. We have not been asked to do anything more.
"The Prime Minister's view is that we have done our fair share and it
will now be for other Isaf partners to carry the main burden."
Source: SKYNEWS
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