British involvement in the war in Afghanistan

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The United Kingdom has participated extensively, militarily and civilly, in Western intervention in Afghanistan since 2001 ; the military presence in the country is the second largest after that of the United States. The British government groups the operations of the British armed forces into two phases, the periods before and after the overthrow of the Taliban government . The two phases are identified internally with the code names Veritas and Herrick.

commitment

As of April 26, 2014, 453 soldiers or civilians in the United Kingdom armed forces had died in Afghanistan. Some major military operations with British involvement are:

history

Operation Veritas

Operation Veritas was the name for the British military operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 . The operation was part of the United States-led Operation Enduring Freedom . It began on 7 October 2001 with an attack by Tomahawk - cruise missiles , launched from a submarine of the Royal Navy . The Royal Air Force participated both in attacking the enemy and in supporting the United States Air Force . British air operations continued throughout Operation Veritas.

Operation Herrick

Operation Herrick began on December 22, 2001 with the deployment of around 2,100 British soldiers as part of the ISAF in Kabul . After the leadership of ISAF passed to Turkey in the summer of 2002, the number of British troops decreased to around 300.

In May 2003, the first British Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was stationed in Mazar-e Sharif in Northern Afghanistan (handover to Sweden in March 2006), shortly afterwards a second PRT in Maimana (handover to Norway in September 2005). The British also created the first Quick Reaction Force in the north, bringing the number of soldiers to around 1,000.

On August 25, 2004, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon announced that he was moving six Harrier GR7As to Kandahar .

The terrorist attacks on July 7, 2005 in London killed 56 people and injured over 700 people. On August 10, 2006, a British anti-terrorist campaign prevented an attack on an aircraft. The terrorist attacks in the UK in the summer of 2007 failed.

On January 26, 2006, Defense Secretary John Reid announced that 3,300 British soldiers would be relocated to the newly built Camp Bastion in Helmand Province , where previously only about 130 US soldiers had been stationed at the PRT Laschkar Gah . On July 31, 2006, ISAF took command in southern Afghanistan. In the summer of 2006 there were heavy fighting with high losses and so the British strengthened their troops again in July 2006. The strategy pursued by the British to build so-called “platoon houses” in the Afghan cities threatened by insurgents in the north of the province resulted in all these small towns being besieged with 40 to 100 soldiers and constantly attacked.

“I am grateful for the recent offer of troops from Poland but I will be urging NATO to look again to see what more can be done. Allies must step up to the plate to meet our collective commitment to support the Government and people of Afghanistan. "

“I am grateful for the offer of troops from Poland, but nevertheless I ask NATO to see again what can be done. The Allies must move into a position in which we can fulfill our joint commitment to support the government and the people of Afghanistan. "

- Defense Minister Des Browne : Addressed a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers on September 28, 2006

The British withdrew from Musa Qala in October after the residents had negotiated a ceasefire that had been in place for over a month, but on February 1, 2007, the city was overrun by a few hundred Taliban.

The British were further reinforced in February 2007 and July 2007 to around 7,800 soldiers in southern Afghanistan. From May 1, 2007 to February 1, 2008, the United Kingdom took over the leadership of the ISAF's South Regional Command, which temporarily rotated between Great Britain, Canada and the Netherlands , from the Netherlands and then handed over responsibility to Canada. In summer 2008 the number rose to 8,000 soldiers. During the summer 2009 elections, the number of British troops rose to 9,000. Another 10,000 US soldiers were reinforced in the summer of 2009.

On November 1, 2009, the United Kingdom again took over command of the South Regional Command from the Netherlands. At that time, around 35,000 soldiers were stationed in the entire South Regional Command. On November 1, 2010, the leadership was handed over to the United States.

While the British increased the number of their soldiers to 9,500, the US president announced that he would send a total of 30,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan. In addition, 10,000 soldiers from the Afghan National Army are being relocated to Helmand (“partnering”).

On January 28, 2010, the Afghanistan Conference 2010 took place in London .

On July 20, 2011, the British armed forces handed over responsibility for the security of the capital Laschkar Gah of Helmand province to the Afghan national army.

Civil construction

Since the province of Helmand consists of deserts and a few fertile river valleys, an urgent goal of civil development is to improve the water supply. The Kajakai Dam on the Hilmend River , which is of enormous importance for both electricity generation and irrigation, has been repaired and put into operation. Water pumps were built and the farmers supported with seeds.

In addition to setting up schools, health care was also improved.

The United Kingdom participates in the EUPOL Afghanistan mission and supports the Afghan National Police (ANP).

Cooperation with the Afghan National Army

There are four battalions (Kandak) in Helmand Province that make up the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army in Laschkar Gah. Among other things, they are accompanied by 400 British soldiers in action (“partnering”).

costs

  • 2001-2002: £ 221m.
  • 2002-2003: £ 311m.
  • 2003-2004: £ 46m.
  • 2004-2005: £ 67m.
  • 2005-2006: £ 199m.
  • 2006-2007: £ 738m.

Source:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ British Ministry of Defense: Operations in Afghanistan: British Fatalities
  2. ↑ icasualties.org: Number of British soldiers killed
  3. ↑ UK Department of Defense: Operations in Afghanistan - Chronology of Events, September 2001 - December 2002
  4. ↑ web archive: Afghanistan: Provincial Reconstruction Teams , press release of May 8, 2003
  5. ^ A b c British Ministry of Defense: Operations in Afghanistan - Background Briefing
  6. ↑ web archive: Deployment of RAF Harrier GR7 Aircraft to Afghanistan , press release from August 25, 2004
  7. ↑ web archive: Harriers prove they can-do in Kandahar , published on August 10, 2005
  8. ↑ Times online: Army Platoon Houses: were they a help or a hindrance in Helmand?
  9. ^ Browne calls on NATO Allies for greater assistance in Afghanistan
  10. ↑ web archive: UK troops redeploy from Musa Qala as Afghan Government hands security to local elders Nachrichten of October 18, 2006
  11. ↑ Web archive: Extra units deploying to Afghanistan named
  12. ↑ Web archive: UK and US commanders meet in Helmand
  13. ^ Web archive: UK takes over ISAF's Regional Command South
  14. ↑ Web archive: Ainsworth and Stirrup welcome US troop surge in Afghanistan
  15. ↑ independent.co.uk: After five years, UK troops return control of Helmand capital