Afghanistan

The dignity and grief of the homecomings and funerals of those killed in Afghanistan is an important reminder of what we ask of our armed forces, of the recognition by the British public of what they do, and of the sacrifice that is asked from families as well as servicemen and women.  I tried to reflect some of this at the beginning of my speech to the House of Commons on Thursday.  Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the dangers to Britain from those two countries, have been a top priority since I started as Foreign Secretary - first visit, more regular visits outside Brussels/Washington. The Prime Minister's statements to Parliament in December 07 and April 09, and Nato and American speeches, for example by President Obama, have laid out a clear mission (to prevent al qaeda using Afghanistan as a bases for attacks), a clear strategy to promote Afghan self-governance and in the...