Negative Blogs

It doesn’t matter how we dress it up, the decision to withdraw our forces from the bitterly-contested town of Sangin later this year looks as though we’ve admitted defeat, and are leaving it to the Americans to sort out the mess.

I fully understand the military logic advanced by Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, for the decision, which will see American Marines assume responsibility for Sangin. By moving the 1,000-strong force we have deployed in Sangin to central Helmand – currently 40 Commando Royal Marines – we can increase our force density in central Helmand, which will afford greater protection for the various agencies involved in the reconstruction effort, which is crucial to the country’s future stability.

But it still doesn’t look good. Even though British forces have fought heroically to capture and hold Sangin these past four years - losing 99 soldiers and many more seriously wounded in the process – we have never been able to dominate the surrounding area. Central Sangin itself has been transformed by the stability British forces have provided, with markets opening and commerce returning, as I discovered when I visited the town earlier this year.

But lack of numbers has meant that we have never been able to dominate the surrounding area, which has allowed the Taliban to maintain strongholds in the surrounding districts, with the inevitable consequences. Every third British patrol leaving their base in Sangin reports a “contact” with Taliban insurgents, either in the form of a road-side bomb or a direct attack. Consequently Sangin accounts for a high proportion of British fatalities and casualties.

I can understand the new coalition government’s desire to limit the number of British fatalities and the seemingly endless procession of coffins passing through Wootton Bassett. The war in Afghanistan is unpopular, and is not a vote-winner.

But I am concerned about the message this sends to our enemies who fight with or support the Taliban. British commanders wanted to stay in Sangin and fight it out until they had the Taliban on the run. They will not now be given that opportunity. And after the previous “redeployments” from Musa Qala and Kajaki, the impression is that we have been forced to withdraw from the more bitterly contested regions of Afghanistan, which doesn’t do the image of the British military any favours. Certainly, if the Taliban were to run up a victory banner, they might well have a point.

By Con Coughlin

British soldiers on patrol in Sangin, Helmand (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)