The terrorist threat to Britain from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region has fallen, David Cameron disclosed on Monday.
He warned the public, however, to be “ready for further casualties” from a summer of hard fighting.
In a sombre report to parliament after his first trip to Afghanistan as prime minister, Mr Cameron revealed that intelligence no longer supported Gordon Brown’s claim that three-quarters of the most serious plots against Britain were linked to the border areas.
But, while stating he wanted troops to return home “the moment it is safe to do so”, Mr Cameron went on to warn that “the threat to the UK would rise” should Nato forces leave Afghanistan prematurely and allow al-Qaeda to return.
The sentiment was echoed by Liam Fox, defence secretary, who said Britain would not “lose our nerve” in Afghanistan, in spite of the “brutal” spending cuts required as a result of the black hole in the public finances.
Mr Cameron told the Commons: “I do not pretend it will be easy. We must be ready for further casualties over the summer months as the so-called fighting season resumes and as Isaf [International Security Assistance Force] extends its activity”.
Mr Fox was even more specific on the measures of achievement, saying he expected Nato troops to “show significant progress” by the end of 2010, including consolidating the Nato position in central Helmand province and accelerating the training of the Afghan national security forces.
In his first speech on the defence review, Mr Fox laid the ground for painful cuts to programmes, warning that the government would have to be “very, very brutal about getting costs down. It is inevitable that there will be the perception of winners and losers as we go through this process. But defence as a whole must come out in a stronger position”.
The equipment procurement programme was unaffordable, he said.
