Early exit from Afghanistan could bring civil war: UK Defence Secretary
By ANIThursday, July 1, 2010
LONDON - British Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said that an early withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan would risk a return of civil war and act as a ’shot in the arm to jihadists’ across the world.
“In marked contrast to David Cameron, who pledged over the weekend to withdraw all British troops by 2015, Fox said Britain would be betraying the sacrifices of its fallen soldiers if it left ‘before the job is finished’, The Guardian reports.
Fox said the British forces would be among the last to leave Afghanistan, asserting that they are situated in Helmand, one the most dangerous provinces in the country.
“Were we to leave prematurely, without degrading the insurgency and increasing the capability of the Afghan national security forces, we could see the return of the destructive forces of transnational terror,” said Fox.
“Not only would we risk the return of civil war in Afghanistan, creating a security vacuum, but we would also risk the destabilisation of Pakistan with potentially unthinkable regional, and possibly nuclear, consequences,” he added.
Fox also warned of an increased terror threat across the world if troops left too soon. (ANI)
