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 »

Last week I made a short and eventful visit to Afghanistan.  Having debated the battles in Afghanistan many times it was very helpful to see things with my own eyes.  In many ways it was harrowing, and seeing what our troops do in 50? C was truly humbling. 

The national media reported that Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had come under rocket attack, but made no mention of me or the rest of our visiting party.  I realised that I’d only have got a mention if I’d come a cropper, so in the circumstances I will settle for anonymity!

Some of our young men were setting out on six hour foot patrols with 40 kg armour and 40 kg backpacks of specialist equipment.  I asked one his body weight and he replied “80 kg sir”.  He was lifting his own bodyweight and embarking on a six hour patrol in 50?! Read more »

Commenting on today’s call by a coroner for the entire RAF Nimrod fleet to be grounded, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

This is an unprecedented call which will shake the MoD to its foundations. Unless it can show there will be grave operational consequences for our forces on the ground, the Government must make plans to ground the Nimrod fleet.

 Our armed forces are doing an incredible and difficult job in taking on the Taliban. It is scandalous that they also have to worry about the threat to their lives posed by the neglect of their own Government. Read more »