Afghanistan strategy right: Brown

Gordon Brown insists that he has "absolutely no doubt" that Britain is pursuing the right strategy in Afghanistan.

In an interview with the British Forces Broadcasting Service, the Prime Minister acknowledged it had been a difficult year for British troops fighting the Taliban.

But he insisted that UK forces needed to be in the country to prevent the return of terrorism to the streets of Britain.

"I have got absolutely no doubt that we are taking the right decisions for our country," he said.

"The very presence of our forces in Afghanistan, taking on the Taliban and preventing the return of al Qaida, has a direct link to the safety and security of people in our streets and in our neighbourhoods in Britain today.

"Every time I think we have taken the right decision about what our objectives have got to be. We have got to protect the safety of British citizens."

Mr Brown rejected the idea that security could be achieved by withdrawing the troops and pursuing a "Fortress Britain" strategy.

He said that the UK and its allies remained committed to building up the Afghan forces so they could take over responsibility for security, allowing the international forces to return home.

"If you are trying to deal with a terrorist threat that operates from Pakistan and has links to Afghanistan, you have got to deal with it where the epicentre of global terrorism is. So I think we have made the right decisions all along on this," he said.

"We have been in Afghanistan longer than the Second World War, longer than the First World War, so this is a difficult enterprise, it has taken a long time, but we have a strategy."

Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gEYKmx8SYROpXW3RE4Tv7iCNZLGA