3 AFGHANISTAN
168. In previous Reports on foreign policy aspects
of the war against terrorism, we have chronicled events in Afghanistan,
from the fall of the Taliban to international efforts to stabilise
the country and to assist reconstruction.[229]
We concluded in those Reports that the poor security situation
in Afghanistan has allowed terrorist groups to regroup and to
plan further attacks on Western interests. In preparing this Report,
we visited Afghanistan on 12 and 13 May 2004. In Kabul, we met
President Hamid Karzai, Foreign Minister Abdallah Abdallah, Afghan
government representatives, and United Nations, NATO and other
international personnel. We were also able to spend some time
in the Northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, where we visited the regional
police training facility and met members of the United Kingdom-led
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).
169. During our visit, we observed that British
diplomats, other officials and military personnel in Afghanistan
are having to work in the most trying of circumstances. The new
British Embassy in Kabul is in the quite cramped and sparse accommodation
which was formerly the Bulgarian Embassy. Most of the staff are
accommodated in portable buildings. The postings are unaccompanied,
and the recreational facilities available are minimal. The contribution
made by United Kingdom personnel based in Afghanistan is much
appreciated by the British Government, by international bodies
such as the UN, by the Government of Afghanistan and by those
Afghans who have direct experience of it. In our view, it deserves
to be more widely reported. We conclude that the contribution
being made by United Kingdom diplomatic, aid and military personnel
in Afghanistan, working in challenging and dangerous conditions,
is out of all proportion to their small numbers. We recommend
that the Government do what it can to improve the conditions in
which its personnel live and work in Afghanistan.
170. Below, we set out our analysis of the role the
United Kingdom and its allies are playing in Afghanistan, in assisting
the Afghan government and people to overcome the formidable challenges
which confront them and to rebuild their country.
229 HC (2002-03) 405, paras 181-84; HC (2003-04) 81,
paras 277-83 Back
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