Transcript of the NATO press conference given by the Prime Minister in Strasbourg, 4 April 2009.
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Prime Minister:
Ladies and gentleman, thank you very much for being so patient. I have with me David Miliband, our Foreign Secretary, and John Hutton, our Defence Secretary. We were accompanied by the Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, at the meeting. I want to say first of all that the 28 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have come together today to mark the 60th anniversary of the alliance – 60 years where we have shown, by cooperation, we can work together to protect our peoples. But more importantly, at the end of these 60 years, we begin a new era, and we have been discussing the future and how we maintain global security in the face of new 21st century threats.
It is fitting that, at this meeting, President Sarkozy has taken the courageous decision that France should re join NATO’s core, and we thank him for it. It is a decision I welcome, and one that will strengthen NATO further as we transform our organisation to provide strong, multi lateral leadership to deal with the security challenges of our time.
It is a meeting at which we have just appointed as Secretary General of NATO for the year to come, Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark. This was a unanimous decision supported by every single country. Sixty years on from the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty, the defining security issue of our time for NATO, and the biggest endeavour in which NATO is now engaged, is not of course in Europe. It is in Afghanistan.
We face what everybody now knows is a complex, resilient insurgency, led by the Taliban, involving Al-Qaeda, and exploiting links to the drug trade and safe havens in Pakistan. For all of us, our national security – and that means safety on our streets in our country – demands that we cannot tolerate any area in either Afghanistan or Pakistan which is a base for training or exporting terrorism. And we must work with the democratically elected governments of both countries and other powers in the region.
In Pakistan, I can tell you that Britain is increasing our aid, while refocusing it towards reconstruction and education in the border areas. And we are helping train and equip the Pakistan army and Frontier Corps for counter insurgency. Afghanistan, by contrast, has no forces of its own as yet capable of dealing with the size of the terrorist threat, or indeed extremism or insurgency, which is why NATO and others have had to take responsibility on behalf of the United Nations. Britain will remain fully committed, with our partners, to our role. We are the second-largest contributor to this mission. The overwhelming majority of our troops have been concentrated for the last three years in the south, which is, of course, the Taliban heartland. And I want, as David and John do, to pay tribute to the courage, professionalism and dedication of our armed forces in one of the most difficult terrains in the world.
Now, we are working to build a successful, democratic Afghanistan and that will mean that our streets will be safer in Britain. With important presidential elections to come in the next few months, we must not allow the Taliban to disrupt the democratic process. Britain is therefore prepared to send additional troops to Afghanistan as part of a wider NATO effort to strengthen security over the summer and until the elections, as well as to ensure that our forces are properly protected from the growing threat from roadside bombs.
I said earlier that we would have to see burden sharing on behalf of the NATO countries; that Britain as the second-largest contributor had also to see evidence that other countries were prepared to join Britain and America in doing more in this election period. I am pleased to say that today at our summit, a large number of countries have announced that they will provide additional support: Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Poland, Turkey, and Croatia have joined Germany, who have already made a similar announcement. That means that burden sharing in this next period, over these next few critical months, is a reality involving many countries who are part of the NATO alliance.
Now this must be part of a wider strategy. We, like the United States, have been reviewing our approach. We must put the Afghan government in charge of its own destiny. We will gradually shift the balance of our forces and our military effort towards training and mentoring the Afghan army, and that is our best strategy for the future. We strongly support the proposal for a new NATO training mission for Afghanistan, and I welcome President Obama’s declaration of American support for an extra 4,000 American troops dedicated to training.
But success in Afghanistan will be about more than military force. We must ramp up our civilian efforts, support the Afghan government to establish better governance and the rule of law through its territory, and provide the support for essential economic development that will give the Afghan people a genuine alternative to the drugs trade. It is right that the Afghan government, in return for NATO’s support, must step up its efforts on tackling corruption and tackling the drugs trade, which not only disrupts our communities in Britain, but also increasingly funds insurgency and terrorism.
It is also right, and I say this very straightforwardly today, that we should expect the Afghan government to act in compliance with the norms of international law. That is why I have spoken, this morning, to President Karzai to express my grave concern about the Sharia family law, which risks putting Afghanistan back into its past, rather than towards the democratic future where men and women are treated equally. He has promised that there will be a statement made by his justice department tomorrow, and he has promised that, if necessary, this will return to the Afghan parliament, rather than be enacted in practice. And we will look for these assurances being made a reality in the days to come.
Together we face the choice to do what is necessary to stabilise Afghanistan and Pakistan and tackle extremism, or to wait for the extremists to come to us and face a battle in the towns and cities of Europe and America. Security in London and Madrid and New York does depend on security in Kabul and Islamabad.
NATO must, and NATO will, succeed in Afghanistan. We must show that the alliance is fit for the 21st century. The decisions we have taken today, and the spirit in which burden sharing has been agreed over these next few months, will help meet our commitment to the Afghan people. In return, we expect the Afghan government to meet its commitments to us. And I believe that the world depends upon NATO and our allies to work to protect us against terrorism.
David, John and I will be happy to answer any questions.
Question:
Prime Minister, President Obama has talked extensively about changing his strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. How exactly is our strategy going to change, and how do you persuade people at home that sending more troops into what is, after all, the most dangerous part of the world is worthwhile?
Prime Minister:
First of all, our focus has been on Pakistan for some time and I am grateful that the American strategy does re-emphasise the importance of tackling terrorist activity in Pakistan. More than two thirds of any plots that we discover in Britain derive from Pakistan and Al-Qaeda members who are working from there. Therefore it is absolutely crucial that we see this as an Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy.
As far as Afghanistan is concerned, we must prevent the Taliban or Al-Qaeda taking control of what is, at the moment, a democratically elected Afghanistan. And that is why, during this critical election period, it is absolutely essential for there to be sufficient troops there, so that there is a fair election taking place, and people can see that the democracy of Afghanistan is being strengthened. That is why we have persuaded many other countries today about the importance of this coming period, and Britain will join with other countries – America, and another 10 countries – in ensuring not only that these elections are carried out in a fair way, but actually will commend themselves, not just to the Afghanistan people but to the international community. I repeat: a democratic Afghanistan will make the streets of Britain safer.
Question:
Prime Minister, Defence Secretary, and Foreign Secretary, there is a big difference between sending troops in temporarily for an election and sending them in to engage with the Taliban in the way that our troops do. Is NATO still failing when it was asked for the long-term mission, as Mr Obama has been asking? And on this proposed legislation, you have spoken to President Karzai, you have raised your concerns, he has promised a review: but in terms of justifying this war back home, how damaging has that episode been?
Prime Minister:
It is absolutely essential that President Karzai makes it clear, not just to his own people but to the world, that the democratic rights of the Afghanistan people will be upheld: and that means that the liberties of individuals, particularly women, will be properly protected. People will not accept that British soldiers are working in Afghanistan, to make Afghanistan safe, if the rights of women are not being properly upheld in the country. That is why I have demanded assurances from President Karzai. He has been able to give me these assurances today that this law will be returned to Parliament, that there will be a statement from his justice ministry, and that it will be made clear that there is no intention to infringe the rights of women in Afghanistan.
It is important also, I think, for us to persuade people around the world that if we allow terrorism to flourish in one part of the world, where we have already kicked out Al Qaeda, and have kept the Taliban out of government, then if we allow it to flourish there, that would mean a threat in other countries, and eventually a threat to Britain. So I think it is very important to understand that the next few months are important for the future of Afghanistan, and therefore for what happens in the streets of our cities, that to step up our troops for this period of time is an important thing to do.
But, as you know, we have already made our commitments to Afghanistan over many years, and the burden sharing that is done by other countries, both their long-term announcements and their pre election announcements: these announcements are important for the future of Afghanistan. There has to be proper burden sharing, and I am satisfied today that we have made real progress with a large number of countries, that were not expected to announce help today, being persuaded that it is the right thing to do.
Question:
Prime Minister, could you give us a sense of the scale of the commitment by Britain in terms of the temporary number of troops we are going to be sending to Afghanistan? Also, could you give us some sense of how large the commitment is being made by other NATO countries? You have mentioned there are 10 countries, but how large is that commitment?
Prime Minister:
Well, I think the right thing for me to do, and for David and John, is that we report to Parliament when it returns. There will be hundreds more troops available to make sure that the elections are carried out fairly, and that will be on a temporary basis. The scale of the offer that is being made by other countries is sufficient for us to be sure that there will be more troops in every part of Afghanistan to make sure the elections are conducted fairly and, as you know, America has made a substantial commitment over the last few weeks that they will have additional troops for the period. But I think it would be best for us to report to Parliament when it comes back, and after we have more information available to us about what other countries are going to do in terms of the numbers, but I do believe, from the figures that have been given today, that these numbers are substantial.
Question:
Prime Minister, could you say if President Obama has asked you, as reported, to provide 2,000 more troops from the UK permanently to reinforce our mission in Afghanistan, and what your response has been if that request has been made?
Prime Minister:
That is not correct. We have been discussing, first of all, the election campaign, and the need for the best reinforcements that will make for a fair and free election. If we are going to sustain the democracy in Afghanistan that is necessary to fight off both the Taliban and the potential return of Al-Qaeda, then we need to ensure by our efforts that the elections can be carried out as fairly as possible. So, our first discussions have been about that.
The second area is longer-term strategy for Afghanistan, and we are discussing this with the Americans on a continuous basis, as well as with our other allies. But I repeat, the numbers that we will announce to the House of Commons are the temporary numbers, until the elections are over, possibly October.
Question:
What role do you actually envisage for these troops? I appreciate you’re saying they’re there to protect the elections, but are they going to be logistical or are they going to be guys standing with their guns primed, guarding poll booths? How do you envisage it?
Prime Minister:
Well, we’ve got to properly protect ourselves as well from the growing threat from roadside bombs, and that’s what we’ll be doing. I’ll be able to announce in more detail with David and John the specific tasks that we’re engaged in on the election, but we will now be consulting with other allies about what they can also do to help, and we’ve had some very productive talks with other countries today about their contribution to the effort as a whole.
So I think you’ll see more detail emerging when we give a Parliamentary statement. But we are clear, one, that we have to do more for this election period; two, that we have to see a genuine burden sharing on the part of other countries; and three, of course we’ve got to protect our troops, as we intend fully to do, against the most recent Taliban tactic of using roadside bombs that put the safety of our troops at risk and the safety of our troops is paramount.
Question:
Prime Minister, the Chief of the Defence Staff recently complained that NATO wasn’t doing enough to resource its own strategy in Afghanistan. Are you seriously saying that these temporary deployments mean that NATO is now doing enough to enforce its own strategy?
Prime Minister:
I have said there had to be burden sharing. We’ve got some evidence today of increased burden sharing. Obviously we will continue to look at what is necessary, both for the short term, and the medium term and the longer term. But what you have had today, which is progress, is announcements from a number of countries that they’re going to make a substantial contribution to the election effort, and some of them have announced longer-term contributions as well. So we are gradually seeing burden sharing become more of a reality than it was in recent years.
We are continuing obviously to press our allies to do more. There are 42 countries that are part of this coalition, and it would be to the benefit of everyone if people looked at the resources that they had available and contributed what they can to this effort. But we had a specific task today, and that was to look to this election period – August to October, but from now really until October – to make sure that the democracy of Afghanistan is maintained, to make sure particularly that the Taliban don’t get any credibility from disrupting the election, and that’s why countries are being prepared to announce today the additional efforts we’re making.
John, do you want to add to that?
The Defence Secretary (John Hutton):
I would just add one thought to that, and that’s this. Entrenching the democracy in Afghanistan is one of the best ways we can defend ourselves against extremism, and I think this is a very, very important set of commitments that have been made today to help us have much greater confidence that that is precisely what we can do now, as the Prime Minister has said, between now and October.
I think the range of the commitments that people have brought to the table today are very significant, and I think they will allow us, as I say, to take another step forward in securing and defending the Afghanistan democracy. And that is a very, very important part of achieving overall campaign success in Afghanistan.
Question:
I want to ask you about the decision for the new Secretary General. There has been some concern that some Muslim countries, or at least some Muslim people, have issues with the Danish Prime Minister who didn’t react as fast as one would have hoped to the cartoon crisis. Turkey’s Prime Minister himself raised this issue. Are you concerned this is going to become an issue over the next few weeks, months, etc., and how will you deal with it?
And also I want to ask you about Iraq. Six years on with the campaign ending, NATO saw great divisions about the Iraq war, has NATO passed these divisions and what lessons were learned from it?
Prime Minister:
Can I just say, first of all, that this is a summit where the decision on Mr Rasmussen was unanimous. Now, of course with 28 countries inside NATO – Croatia and Albania joining in the past day – there are discussions and it’s hardly surprising that that is the case. There were a number of candidates that were put up originally, but everybody withdrew their candidate in favour of Mr Rasmussen. Other countries will want to answer for themselves, but we thought he was an excellent candidate. He’s a sitting Prime Minister, the first time NATO has been headed by a former Prime Minister, and I think he will do an excellent job.
Can I just also say something about the spirit of this summit? We came from the G20 meeting in London, where we made very big decisions on one of the great issues of the global age, and that is how you can secure economic and financial stability. We met in NATO to discuss one of the other great issues: how we can have security in a new age against terrorism and particularly where there are broken or failed states. And what I found, just as I found in London, was a spirit of partnership, the strongest relationships I have seen between America and Europe.
As you said, over the Iraq war many of these relationships were fractured. Now we see a unity of purpose between America and Europe, wishing to work together to deal with the real problems we face. I would define the problems as financial stability, and we are making some progress; as climate change and we have made some progress even in London on the road to Copenhagen later this year; poverty and inequality in the poorest countries particularly, and we have made some progress on the Millennium Development Goals in London. And now we come here and we talk about the fourth biggest issue of the global age, security, and you see that there is more burden sharing than there was, a determination that we will ensure that elections can be free and fair, and – I think most significantly – a partnership of purpose between America and Europe, which is something that bodes very, very well for the future.
And I just add that President Obama’s extraordinary success at this summit is something that I think people will want to register throughout the world. And as he goes on to the European Council meeting in the Czech Republic tomorrow and then to his other visits in the region, I think he has already shown great leadership in what he has achieved in both London and here in this Germany-France summit. And finally, let me thank Germany and France for hosting this summit. I think people have seen this as a symbol, Germany and France joining together to host this summit, a symbol of the partnerships that are developing right across the world for the future.
The Foreign Secretary (David Miliband):
I think there has been an Obama effect at this summit. It’s been palpable around the table, and there are a number of aspects to it. The first is that I think President Obama has shown that when he said that leading involved listening, he really meant it. And that leading and listening, far from being opposed to each other, are actually essential complements. And I think that he went out of his way to say that the American strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan has built on the ideas of allies. I think that’s clear.
Secondly, there’s an Obama effect that a new page has been turned in American leadership. I think it’s the first time in 150 years that neither a sitting President nor Vice President was up for election, and President Obama has set out to lead a transformative Presidency, a Presidency which challenges some of the old taboos and finds new ways of solving old problems. I think that’s found a resonance and the list of countries who lined up today to pledge their increased civilian as well as military effort is in part a testimony to that style, but also to the substance of the leadership that President Obama is offering.
Thirdly, and as the Prime Minister made clear, when it comes to some tricky issues that need to be resolved at the end of long sessions, President Obama has found a way to help bring people together. So to your point, I think that 2003 seems quite a long time away now. And the strength of trans-Atlantic purpose, which after all is the heart of NATO, is very, very palpable and very, very sincere. And I think that people now recognise that a strong trans-Atlantic partnership is not to the exclusion of the rest of the world; it’s to provide an inclusive approach to the rest of the world, and that’s something that I think we should celebrate.
Ten years ago, at the 50th anniversary of NATO, people were questioning whether or not NATO had a future and whether or not there was a future for trans-Atlantic understanding of the sort embodied in NATO. I think it’s clear now that the old question of whether NATO defended the territorial integrity of its members or provided out-of-area operations was actually a false debate. You’ve got to do both and that’s what comes out very strongly from the Declaration on Alliance Security that’s been agreed today.
Prime Minister:
Let me just say, I built up a very strong personal relationship with President Obama over these past few weeks. In the preparations for the London summit, we have worked very closely together. And we have also worked on the Afghanistan/Pakistan review very closely. And I think when I say that we are all agreed – and that is not just America and Britain, but all the countries who have now volunteered to share the burden in Afghanistan – that only by taking this action will we make the world safer.
I think that is what is now understood across the whole of NATO as the result of the conversations we have had in the past few days.
Question:
Prime Minister, reflecting on both the G20 summit and the NATO summit, much of the attention has been on the divisions, rightly or wrongly, and what President Obama called ‘the national quirks’ of countries like France and Germany, who have their own interests. Are you confident that your hosts here today have the same commitment to President Obama’s global agenda as you do?
Prime Minister:
I think we have seen people coming together in the past few days. I don’t think we have seen in recent years the level of deep cooperation that we are now seeing between the major countries of the world. I think it was clear when we met to discuss the economy that everybody felt that not only were we united in what we wanted to do, but the unity included action on very specific policies that nobody could have thought possible a few months ago.
Nobody would have thought it possible to have global rules for dealing with banking assets, for dealing with shadow banking systems, tax havens, hedge funds, and nobody would have thought it possible that the world could agree a major injection of liquidity into the world economy at a meeting that was being held of 20 countries as diverse as China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Europe and America.
And I believe that the lesson of that is that global problems not only need global solutions but global problems can only be dealt with by the intensification of the coordination we’ve got. I find it extraordinarily hopeful for the future that the partnership that we’re developing with President Obama and the partnership that the rest of Europe finds it has with President Obama is genuinely a partnership of purpose. We’re not just talking; we’re agreeing decisions today.
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