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Lib Dem calls for rethink on war in Afghanistan

Sep 20 2009 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

He added: “Why do we have these camps in Helmand where our soldiers just seem to be penned in behind sand bags and occasionally make excursions out of the forts, only to find themselves under attack?

“So I think the strategy has got to change very, very quickly. If it doesn’t people, myself included, will increasingly think this is an unwinnable war.”

Mr Clegg said it was now very important to see what American president Barack Obama would do in developing a new strategy for Afghanistan.

“The Americans seem to have accepted an argument that some of us have been making for some time that the present strategy is wrong and it cannot continue,” said the Lib Dem leader.

Asked about comparisons with the Vietnam War, he said: “This is the risk. If you carry on with failure, if you just carry on making the same old mistakes, not defeating the Taliban, not winning the battle for hearts and minds, not creating good governance in Afghanistan, well of course you do risk getting stuck in a quagmire.”

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