No Merlins?
Des the magician said yesterday:
Importantly, General Richards judges he has the forces to maintain the relatively stable security situation that now exists. But I will continue to push for his requirements to be met, in full, as a matter of urgency.
Is there a contradiction here?
In Helmand, the UK Task Force also faces challenges . . . We are rebalancing our forces, taking advantage of the steady improvement in the Afghan army and police to concentrate our forces on the central area surrounding the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. . . .
Back in the UK, the main challenge – for me, . . . is to give our troops the resources they need to get the job done. This is a relentless task, but we are rising to it. We have now almost completely deployed the reinforcements . . . that includes: 2 more Chinook helicopters, and more flying hours for helicopters across the fleet; more capacity to train the Afghan National Army; engineers to take forward development; and more infantry.
Is thgat 2 more Chinooks from yesterday or from 10 Jul?
On 24 July I announced a new package for protected vehicles for both Afghanistan and Iraq, including 100 new Mastiff and 100 additional Vector, funded by new money from the Treasury.
And?
I believe we have shown we can be responsive to the requests of commanders and we will continue to be so.
Are, so they have the kit now?
In Afghanistan, we have to tackle the South and the East if we are to secure what has already been achieved in the rest of the country.
In Iraq, we have to support the Iraqi government, and their army and police
We will do all of these things – we cannot afford not to.
I am sure the House will join me in paying tribute to them again today.
How many tributes is a pint of beer?