UK 'sticking to' Afghan pullout plan

The UK is “sticking to its course” in Afghanistan amid warnings British troops could be killed in reprisal attacks for the killing of 16 civilians by a US soldier, Downing Street said.

Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman said the massacre appeared to be “an abhorrent act by a single individual” that would not push the international coalition off course.

The tragic incident has sparked Taliban threats of revenge against allied personnel and pushed Afghanistan firmly to the top of the agenda for Mr Cameron’s talks with US President Barack Obama during this week’s visit to Washington.

The UK does not believe that the furious Afghan response to the killings will prompt America to accelerate Nato’s agreed timetable for withdrawal, which envisages the handover of lead responsibility for security throughout Afghanistan to local forces during 2013 and the final drawdown of allied troops by the end of 2014.

Despite calls from some quarters in the US for troops to be brought home more quickly, Britain does not expect any further announcement on withdrawals from the White House during the course of this year, beyond the plan already set out by Mr Obama to pull out the 33,000-strong “surge” force in September this year.

Mr Obama has offered his condolences and promised a full investigation for what his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai has called an unforgivable incident.

Asked today if he feared that British lives had been placed more at risk, Mr Cameron’s spokesman said the situation on the ground was for military commanders.

He told reporters: “This was clearly a tragic event. Our hearts and sympathies go out to the families who have died.

“As far as we are aware it was an abhorrent act by a single individual. There is a Nato/Isaf investigation under way.

“But we are sticking to our course and we have a clear plan which is a measured transition which will allow the Afghans to take over responsibility for security from Isaf forces.”

Pressed as to the potential for reprisals against UK troops, he said: “We have a defined course and we are sticking to it. On the particular issue of UK forces, clearly that is an issue for commanders on the ground.”

The former commander of British forces in Helmand, Colonel Richard Kemp, said vital trust allied forces have built up with Afghan civilians over the course of the war would be damaged.

“Not only are we likely to see protests and possibly American, possibly British soldiers killed over what happened on Saturday night, but also a very severe weakening of the relationship between many of the people in Afghanistan who were supporting us,” he told ITV’s Daybreak.

Col Kemp said building trust with local people was one of the most important elements of British troops’ work in Afghanistan as they tried to tackle Taliban networks.

Relations between international security forces and the Afghan government would also be weakened as a result of the murders, which took place in two villages close to a US army base in Panjwai, southern Kandahar, on Saturday, he said.

A member of the US forces is believed to have turned himself in to the military authorities.

Mr Kemp added: “I think every soldier in Afghanistan, British, American and other allies, will be sickened by a person wearing their own uniform literally going door to door and killing people as they sleep in their houses.

“These are the very people that this soldier and his comrades are supposed to be in Afghanistan to protect not kill.”

In a statement released by the White House, President Obama said: “This incident is tragic and shocking, and does not represent the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United States has for the people of Afghanistan.”

Nato officials also apologised for the killings.

Lieutenant General Adrian Bradshaw, deputy commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, said: “I wish to convey my profound regrets and dismay at the actions apparently taken by one coalition member in Kandahar province.

“I cannot explain the motivation behind such callous acts but they were in no way part of authorised Isaf military activity.”

American troops sparked public outrage last month after burning copies of the Koran.

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander told BBC Radio 4’s Today the narrowing window for securing a political settlement in Afghanistan should be top of the agenda when Mr Cameron meets President Obama in Washington this week.

“The end state still can be a political settlement with the tribes in but al Qaida out and a security apparatus sufficient to stop Afghanistan being again a threat not just to its own population but to the international community,” said Mr Alexander.

“But the window of opportunity for that negotiated settlement is rapidly diminishing, which is why I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister is going to Washington. I hope that Afghanistan will be at the top of the international agenda.”