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Afghanistan

6. David Cairns (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NATO's command of international security assistance force operations in Afghanistan. [179364]
 
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): Since NATO assumed responsibility for the international security assistance force in August 2003, the alliance has continued successfully to assist the Afghan transitional authority in maintaining security in Afghanistan. NATO has also led the expansion of ISAF beyond Kabul and is working on expanding the force across Afghanistan.

David Cairns: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. If NATO is to assume a more global peacekeeping role in future, it is essential that its command of ISAF is a success, and is seen to be a success. Does he share my disappointment that other member countries of NATO are reluctant to give ISAF the number of troops that it needs to extend its mandate beyond Kabul? Some countries may have legitimate differences of opinion with us over Iraq, but they all supported the Afghan war. Now is the time not to walk away from that country, but to help to rebuild it.

Mr. Ingram: I know that my hon. Friend takes a close interest in matters relating to Afghanistan. All of us want things to happen more quickly, but in the real world it takes time to plan a complicated military operation, especially in such a challenging environment as Afghanistan. It takes time to organise and deploy military forces, and for that deployment to have a full effect. My hon. Friend should look at what NATO has already achieved. It is moving fast—just two months after the UN authorised ISAF expansion, it established the first ISAF provincial reconstruction team. We are clearly moving into another phase of possible expansion, in which the United Kingdom is to the fore. I suggest that my hon. Friend wait for the outcome of the Istanbul summit, as some of the issues that he has raised will be raised there as well.

Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex) (Con): Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that there is no anxiety about NATO's command of ISAF, but its real difficulty is the timely generation of adequate forces to undertake the jobs required? Will he confirm that at the summit on 17 June in Brussels it was agreed that the EU would establish its own military operational planning centre independent of NATO? Would it not be better if, instead of discussing headquarters, some of those countries increased their defence spending on deployable capabilities to undertake those difficult missions?

Mr. Ingram: May I suggest that if the hon. Gentleman had been here for question 4 he could have asked his question then? However, I hope he heard me when I said that NATO is making progress, and more will be made as a result of the important summit at which NATO Ministers will deal with any possible expansion in Afghanistan. That is when the issue will be discussed, and that is when a structure will be put in place to develop our mission in that country.

Mr. Tom Harris (Glasgow, Cathcart) (Lab): With elections in Afghanistan due by the end of the year, it is obviously important to make sure that there is a stable political environment in the country in the run-up to those elections. What role are NATO troops,
 
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particularly British troops within the NATO forces, playing to make sure that that environment is sustained between now and election day?

Mr. Ingram: My hon. Friend raises an important issue about the emerging democracy and the forthcoming elections in Afghanistan. It falls to all coalition countries to do our best to ensure that registration takes place under the UN lead, and that there is a stable environment to encourage people to vote—all sections of the community, men and women alike, who are eligible to vote. It is encouraging that significant numbers of women have already registered to vote in the election. We and other coalition forces are playing a dual role—in ISAF in Kabul and in the provincial reconstruction teams, whose role and function there are proposals to expand. It is important to allow the Afghan forces and the transitional Government progressively to take on the ownership and control of their own country. Giving them the confidence to move forward and the security in which to do it is an important role that we are playing, through both ISAF and the PRTs.

Mr. Edward Garnier (Harborough) (Con): The right hon. Gentleman's answer to the hon. Member for Greenock and Inverclyde (David Cairns) was, when boiled down to its essentials, wait and see. How long must we wait and what will we see?

Mr. Ingram: I gave a time scale to that. If the hon. and learned Gentleman had been listening, he would have heard me say that the summit in Istanbul next week would no doubt discuss the matter, and we may return to it in future questions if progress is not made.

D-Day Commemorations

7. Shona McIsaac (Cleethorpes) (Lab): What assessment he has made of the D-Day commemorations. [179365]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Ivor Caplin): I made an initial assessment of the D-day commemorations to the House on 9 June during the veterans affairs debate. I am pleased to report further that the Ministry of Defence has received a number of letters from hon. Members, veterans and their organisations who attended the events in France, expressing their thanks for the effort provided by the Department and our armed forces. I would again like to add my thanks to all for their hard work. I have also written to the French Veterans Minister thanking the people of France for their support during that most memorable weekend of 5 and 6 June.

Shona McIsaac: I am sure everybody in the House would agree that the commemorations were a success. They were both moving and a fitting remembrance of the bravery and sacrifice of veterans. It is important that their work and their bravery, not just in world war two but in other conflicts, be kept in the public mind in future. What will the Government do in the future to keep these affairs in the forefront of the public's mind? Has he ever given consideration to something for which I have campaigned for some years: a veterans day public holiday?
 
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Mr. Caplin: We have already announced to the House that we propose to have a veterans awareness week in July 2005. That will be an opportunity for people in all parts of the United Kingdom to take part in discussions with veterans and, we hope, in educative opportunities for young people in order for them to understand what happened in 1945 and to be more aware of how those great and momentous events in our history took place. I will give some consideration to my hon. Friend's other suggestion, but I am sure she is aware that that is not directly the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence.

Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex) (Con): May I, on behalf of many of those who were there, thank the Government and congratulate them on the arrangements that they made for those never-to-be-forgotten celebrations? Will the Minister extend to the armed services our thanks for all they did in a very short time to bring together such a tremendous display, and will he particularly pass to the Normandy veterans our admiration and respect for their bearing and dignity on a parade that no one who saw it will ever forget?

Mr. Caplin: I agree with the hon. Gentleman's comments about that weekend's events in Normandy, and Her Majesty's Government were delighted by the excellent turnout from both sides of the House. Events occurred in Portsmouth, which has a direct and important connection with the Normandy landings, in Lichfield, at the national memorial arboretum, and in many other towns and cities across the UK, such as Plymouth and Blackpool, and I hope that the people who attended those events also had a memorable and enjoyable weekend.

Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock) (Lab): The Minister mentioned next year, when we shall commemorate victory in Europe and victory over Japan. Will he and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office consider righting a wrong perpetrated half a century ago, when the Polish air force was denied the opportunity to march down Whitehall with the other representative contingents because it might offend Uncle Joe Stalin? I hope that he will find some way to commemorate the Polish air force, which was part of "the few".

Mr. Caplin: I sympathise with my hon. Friend's point, and I shall look into the matter and report back to him. On 10 July 2005, the country will come together to commemorate VE-day and VJ-day, and I hope that all those who want to participate can do so, whether that occurs in London or other cities and towns around the UK.

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