Howells calls for Afghan withdrawal
A former Foreign Office minister has dramatically broke with Government policy on Afghanistan by calling for the phased withdrawal of the bulk of Britain's military force from the country.
Kim Howells, who now chairs the Intelligence and Security Committee, said the money devoted to the campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan would be better spent on police and security measures to prevent al-Qaida terror attacks on the streets of Britain.
He called for Britain to step up its intelligence operations overseas and acknowledged that his "Fortress Britain" strategy would inevitably involve "more intrusive surveillance in certain communities" - thought to be a reference to Britain's Muslim population.
Eight years since the invasion which ousted the Taliban government, public support for the war is waning, while even the 40,000-strong troop surge reportedly being planned by US President Barack Obama will not be enough to defeat militias, he warned in an article in The Guardian.
The Pontypridd MP, who was a strong supporter of the war in Afghanistan while at the Foreign Office from 2005-08, insisted that he was speaking personally and not on behalf of the ISC, which is appointed by the Prime Minister and reports directly to him.
But questions will be asked over whether his views reflect concerns within the intelligence community with which his current post gives him regular contact.
Questioning the focus on the creation of a stable democracy in Afghanistan as a means of protecting Britain, Dr Howells noted that al-Qaida was capable of establishing terror training camps elsewhere in the world.
And he said that the threat it poses - particularly in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics in London - could be better countered by tightening Britain's borders and stepping up the work of the police and intelligence services.
He said: "It is time to ask whether the fight against those who are intent on murdering British citizens might better be served by diverting into the work of the UK Border Agency and our police and intelligence services much of the additional finance and resources swallowed up by the costs of maintaining British forces in Afghanistan.
"It would be better, in other words, to bring home the great majority of our fighting men and women and concentrate on using the money saved to secure our own borders, gather intelligence on terrorist activities inside Britain, expand our intelligence operations abroad, co-operate with foreign intelligence services, and counter the propaganda of those who encourage terrorism."
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