My first question to the PM
To watch me put my question please forward to 16 minutes in.
This was my first question to David Cameron at PM's Question Time on Thursday. The first of many questions I'll put to challenge him and the Government:
Me: Homecoming parades for our very brave soldiers in Afghanistan are incredibly important, but so is an exit strategy from Afghanistan.
Given the growing agreement that there is no military solution to the crisis there and that the head of the Army himself has said that we should start talking to the Taliban soon, would the Prime Minister not agree that we should start talking now, so that we can save more lives on all sides and bring our troops home?
Here's what he said in answer:
PM: May I first of all welcome the hon. Lady to the House?
Winning her seat was an incredible achievement for her party, and I know that she will make a huge contribution during this Parliament.
We discussed Afghanistan at quite some length in the House yesterday. Of course there is no purely military solution; very few insurgencies are ended by purely military means.
But I think it is important to continue with the strategy this year of the military surge, to put pressure on the Taliban-and, of course, there should be a political track.
But as I said yesterday in the House, we have to recognise that there is a difference between the Taliban linked to al-Qaeda, who want to do so much harm not just in Afghanistan but across our continent as well, and those people who have been caught up in an insurgency for other reasons.
Should there be reconciliation and reintegration? Yes, of course; there is, and we can go further. But I think that the things that the hon. Lady is talking about would not be advisable.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 30 June 2010, c857)
Watch the video of Thursday's PM Question Time at Parliament Live.
http://bit.ly/9g3IKz
To see me putting my question to Cameron, forward to c. 16 minutes in.
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Comments:
Adam Khan
20 July 2010
11:52
It would be interesting if Lucas posted her remarks to the PM's response here in the blog; I can't tell if she agrees or disagrees with his stance that the Taliban actually have to be defeated.
Novparl
10 July 2010
12:29
Someone on the extreme left supporting military parades? I can't believe it.
Chris is right about the Afghan deaths, Nato killed 5 Afg. soldiers on Wednesday and 6 civilians on Thursday.
rob appleton
07 July 2010
20:27
I really urge your 2nd question to be a request to BP for the immediate cease of the use of corexit 9500 in the Gulf of Mexico - it's causing grave concerns regarding health and toxicity in the food chain for the locals, and appears to be adding fuel to an already horrific fire. It would seem that there are indeed safer more effective dispersants if that really is the answer.
chris
03 July 2010
12:59
Well done for asking a first question
Maybe we should also have a ceremony to remember all the Afghans that have been killed. Can't personally stand all this heroic backslapping, I can't find any figures on Afghan deaths over 9 years, must be hundreds of thousands by now.
The carbon cost of war is also extreme; the financial cost is so great and the huge loss of life so vast that I think it is not the time to be polite for the sake of pleasing the House of Commons.
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