Generals slammed for Afghan military failures

The report, released today by the Defence Committee, was their first review of British military operations in Afghanistan and it has not been kind to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Focusing on the deployment of British troops into the southern Afghanistan arena of Helmand in 2006 and the years afterwards, it states that not enough soldiers were sent to the battle zone – and that they were sent without “the necessary personnel, equipment or intelligence to succeed in their mission”.

The report highlights a failure of communication between military and political bodies, and says that senior military advisors did not warn government ministers that British troops lacked the strength required to succeed in their mission.

In a statement, the Defence Committee said:

“The Committee is disturbed by the fact that in 2006 the Secretary of State was being told that commanders on the ground were content with the support they were being given in Helmand when clearly they were not.

“The Report regards it as unacceptable that hard pressed Forces in such a difficult operation as Helmand should have been denied the necessary support to carry out the mission from the outset, and that this shortage had not been brought to the attention of Ministers.

The committee of 12 MPs, chaired by the Rt Hon James Artbuthnot, also criticised the MoD for not adapting quickly enough to the growing threat of IED roadside bombs.

It said that it took some time to get a “suitably capable vehicle fleet into theatre” and that the MoD needs to explain how the equipment currently issued is providing adequate protection from IEDs.

The report also states that the Committee is still “not convinced that UK Forces yet have access to sufficient helicopter hours.”

(British soldiers try to secure the site of a suicide attack in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province, 2006 – Reuters)

The Chairman of the Defence Committee, Rt Hon James Arbuthnot, said:

“Our Forces have achieved the best tactical outcomes possible in very difficult circumstances due to the high quality and training of our personnel.

“But the force levels deployed throughout 2006, 2007 and 2008 were never going to achieve what was being demanded of the Armed Forces by the UK, NATO and the Afghan government.”

The Defence Committee have also warned against the planned withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. Their report concludes that the removal of any more than a few hundred troops would weaken the mission and be a “dangerous move.”

Earlier this month Prime Minister David Cameron visited troops in Afghanistan and announced that an extra 500 troops would be gone by next year, cutting total forces in Afghanistan by 9,000.

James Arthbuthnot said that they believed troop withdrawal should be done on a “conditions-based approach” and numbers should be reduced with due regard to circumstances at the time.

“There are still many challenges facing the ANSF and Afghan Government before proper transition can take place.

“The government’s clear determination to withdraw combat forces should not undermine the military strategy by causing the Afghan population to fear that the international coalition might abandon them or by allowing the Taliban and others to think that all they have to do is bide their time until ISAF Forces withdraw.”

The Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said he welcomes the report and that the MoD will respond in due course.

However he did agree that “mistakes were made” in the initial deployment to Helmand in 2006:

“This was particularly true with regard to the troop numbers and equipment made available for the tasks expected of the UK forces deployed over that period.”

But he says that since 2009 troop levels have increased across Helmand and that they halted the momentum of the insurgency.

He said:

“While there is much still to do, we are on track to achieve our target of ending UK combat operations in Afghanistan by 2015.

“We will not abandon Afghanistan and as the prime minister has made clear the UK will work to further develop the ability of Afghans to look after their own affairs by leading the Afghan National Army Officer Academy amongst other things.

“My highest priority is ensuring that our service personnel are given all the support and equipment they need to do the job asked of them.

Helicopters are a shared resource across ISAF and there are sufficient in theatre. Since November 2006, the number of UK airframes available to commanders in Afghanistan has doubled with an increase in helicopter hours of around 140 per cent.”