Chief of the Defense Staff General David Richards underlined Britain’s aim to end its combat role in Afghanistan by 2014-15 but did not estimate how much longer after that coalition troops would need to support Afghan security forces.
“First of all, you have to ask: ‘Do we need to defeat it (Islamist militancy) in the sense of a clear cut victory?’” Richards told the Sunday Telegraph. “I would argue that it is unnecessary and would never be achieved.”
“But can we contain it to the point that our lives and our children’s lives are led securely? I think we can.”
His comments are the latest from Western military leaders and politicians who have been paving the way for coalition forces to exit Afghanistan over the coming years, even though the Taleban remains a significant threat to security there.
US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron hope to start bringing troops home next year.
The general, who became head of Britain’s armed forces last month, said the region should be stabilized before any withdrawal is completed.
“We are equally clear that we have got to support the operation thereafter to make sure that our legacy is an enduring one,” he said.
Separately, Richards said he would back Prince Harry if the young royal wanted to return to the front line in Afghanistan but said his elder brother, second in line to the British throne Prince William, should probably avoid the conflict.
“I would advise ... that right now he shouldn’t. He’s not trained to go out there so it’s actually a slightly academic issue,” he said.
“However, with Prince Harry, who spent 10 weeks in Helmand in 2008 and is known to be keen to return to the front line, it is a different matter.”
British soldiers have been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001 as part of a US-led force.
