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David Cameron Makes Unannounced Afghanistan Visit | David Cameron Makes Unannounced Afghanistan Visit |
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LONDON — As Britain joins the United States and other allies in combating the Sunni militants of the Islamic State, Prime Minister David Cameron flew to Afghanistan for a previously unannounced visit on Friday to honor British soldiers who fought and died there in earlier efforts to contain Islamic extremism. | LONDON — As Britain joins the United States and other allies in combating the Sunni militants of the Islamic State, Prime Minister David Cameron flew to Afghanistan for a previously unannounced visit on Friday to honor British soldiers who fought and died there in earlier efforts to contain Islamic extremism. |
British troops are to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of the year after a campaign spanning more than a decade in which 453 British soldiers died in the war waged by a NATO coalition. The fighting has claimed 2,348 American lives, according to the monitoring group icasualties.org. | |
“They have paid a very high price for our engagement in Afghanistan; they have done vital work here,” Mr. Cameron said, referring to British troops in a war that, like the conflict in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, drew widespread opposition from Britons. | “They have paid a very high price for our engagement in Afghanistan; they have done vital work here,” Mr. Cameron said, referring to British troops in a war that, like the conflict in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, drew widespread opposition from Britons. |
“We should remember those who paid the ultimate price,” Mr. Cameron said, “and those who were injured through the work they did.” | “We should remember those who paid the ultimate price,” Mr. Cameron said, “and those who were injured through the work they did.” |
Mr. Cameron, on his 13th visit to Afghanistan, is set to become the first world leader to meet President Ashraf Ghani, who took office on Monday after lengthy political wrangling after a contested election. | |
Mr. Cameron said that British troops had contributed to denying Al Qaeda a haven while preparing Afghan Army and police forces to look after the country’s security. | Mr. Cameron said that British troops had contributed to denying Al Qaeda a haven while preparing Afghan Army and police forces to look after the country’s security. |
“I think we have gone a long way to achieving that,” he said. “I think that is a very real achievement.” | “I think we have gone a long way to achieving that,” he said. “I think that is a very real achievement.” |
“This is where 9/11 and countless other plots were hatched,” he said, speaking of the days before 2001 when Osama bin Laden operated from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, then under the control of the Taliban. | |
“The core U.K. mission was about our own domestic security,” Mr. Cameron said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “That required an Afghan Army and police capable of taking care of their own security and denying Al Qaeda a safe haven.” | “The core U.K. mission was about our own domestic security,” Mr. Cameron said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “That required an Afghan Army and police capable of taking care of their own security and denying Al Qaeda a safe haven.” |
While British leaders have frequently sought to justify the deployment in Afghanistan by citing the imperatives of counterterrorism at home, the most lethal attack in London — on July 7, 2005 — was planned by British citizens with ties to Pakistan. On that day, four suicide bombers killed 52 travelers on the London transit system. | |
Mr. Cameron was speaking as the government in London promised a new crackdown on Islamic militants, while a handful of British Royal Air Force jets were again flying combat missions alongside the United States in the skies over Iraq. | |
Mr. Cameron has not joined the United States, however, in attacking targets of the Islamic State in Syria. | Mr. Cameron has not joined the United States, however, in attacking targets of the Islamic State in Syria. |
“We are fighting a generational struggle against Islamist extremist terrorists,” Mr. Cameron said. “This is a battle we are going to be engaged in for many, many years.” | “We are fighting a generational struggle against Islamist extremist terrorists,” Mr. Cameron said. “This is a battle we are going to be engaged in for many, many years.” |