Commenting on today’s NAO report on Britain’s Hercules aircraft, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

“This report is further evidence that our continued presence in Iraq is draining the life from equipment that is desperately needed in Afghanistan.

“Overstretch and the impact of wars on two fronts has taken a heavy toll on the Hercules fleet.

“As Sir Jock Stirrup said this week, the Armed Forces are simply not set up for fighting two enduring operations simultaneously.

“The Hercules are operating in demanding and hostile environments. The older aircraft are operating beyond their original retirement date and are increasingly expensive to keep airworthy. Read more »

Afghanistan is well defined as the conflict of our generation. Our involvement is wide in scope, multifarious in nature and due to be long in duration. Not only must our forces deliver security and stability to a country that has been ravaged by recent history and has served as a focal point for power struggles for centuries, but it must also ensure that any peace created can endure.   

Establishing the foundations for peace and security in any situation is no mean feat: in the case of Afghanistan the stakes are high and it is made even more difficult by the 50? C heat, the often treacherous terrain, the political vacuum, and the indigenous knowledge of the Taliban we are fighting.

Nick Clegg in Afghanistan earlier this year.

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Concerned that the continued involvement of the British armed forces on two fronts is overstretching our troops, on Monday Nick raised the following question in the House:

  Nick Harvey (Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Defence; North Devon, Liberal Democrat)

Can the Secretary of State cast any light on the BBC reports of a week or so ago that by the end of the year the Government would be in a position to announce a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq? We have heard President Bush warn against it, but yesterday the Foreign Secretary said in a BBC interview:

“We have to complete what we have started and the priority… was the training of the 14th Division around Basra.”

What is the Government’s estimate of the time scale for completion of that work? Are there any other specific projects that we “have to complete” before we have concluded our task? Will we be in a position to tell a new United States President next January that the sustainability of our long-term commitment in Afghanistan necessitates a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq? Read more »

Commenting on the Government’s announcement of the deployment of further troops to Afghanistan, expected to bring the total to over 8000, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

“Further support for the vital work our troops are doing in Afghanistan is welcome.

However, the Government is still failing to address the pressing issue of overstretch in our armed forces. Read more »

Commenting on the BBC’s report that the final withdrawal of British troops from Iraq could be announced by the end of the year, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
“Reports of plans for the final withdrawal of British troops from Iraq are very welcome. Liberal Democrats have been pressing for this for some time. Read more »

Commenting on General Sir Richard Dannatt’s remarks on Army privates’ pay, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
“It is refreshing to hear the head of the Army being open about problems with soldiers’ pay while still in post.
“Considering the massive sacrifices that we ask them to make, there is no doubt that our Army privates are scandalously underpaid. Read more »