Stop the War issued the following statement in response to yesterday’s news that May will meet the Nato general secretary today to discuss the expansion of British military involvement in Afghanistan:
News that Theresa May will meet the Nato secretary general in Downing Street on Wednesday where she will be asked to send more British troops to Afghanistan will surprise no one who is following events there.
It is estimated that the Taliban, supposedly defeated back in 2001, now control 40% of the country. After tens of thousands of deaths, huge numbers of refugees, many injured physically and mentally, and a whole society living through a seemingly endless war, the only solution politicians have is to send more troops into this catastrophe.
Theresa May has repeatedly made clear her commitment to a war agenda. She is determined to stick close to Donald Trump – the US is sending an estimated 3000 troops – and her defence secretary Michael Fallon said recently that they were prepared to join another attack on Syrian government forces, if necessary without parliamentary authorisation.
The election is being fought with constant references to safety and security, with repeated admonitions to fight terrorism. Yet the truth which should be shouted from the rooftops is that this war has made terrorism more of a threat, has left people in Afghanistan and Britain less safe and less secure, and has absolutely no end in sight. The British 16-year involvement in the war and occupation in Afghanistan has been a colossal failure
