Cameron insists that optimism over Afghanistan is justified

The Prime Minister said yesterday that compared with previous summer fighting seasons, the United States and UK seemed to have “got a grip” on the insurgency, and that the level of contacts with fighters had been lower than expected.

Mr Cameron’s trip had to be radically altered yesterday morning following the disappearance of an unnamed British soldier, who was found dead last night with gunshot wounds.

Before the death was confirmed, the premier admitted the incident was “disturbing”. But he said the “big picture” in Afghanistan showed cause for optimism, while also reiterating there would be no movement in the 2015 deadline for the UK’s combat role to end.

“What happened was obviously a very disturbing incident,” Mr Cameron said.

“I arrived here in Helmand province and said to the military: ‘Whatever you do, don’t worry about taking me around – throw everything you have got at trying to pick up this young man.’

“The reason for me not going to Lashkar Gah was not about my security. It was literally, use everything you have got to try and deal with this.

“That was the right thing to do. My thoughts all day have been with that young man, and trying to help the military find him.”

One Taliban group claimed to have killed the unnamed soldier in a gun battle near Babaji. But Nato said it was not aware of any firefight in the area.

Another report suggested he may have left a checkpoint where he was stationed to go swimming with Afghan troops.

Only last week two French journalists taken hostage by the Taliban in 2009 were finally released after 18 months in captivity.

Mr Cameron said there were likely to be many more setbacks before 2015, when the Coalition has pledged British troops will no longer be involved in combat.

“Of course we are going to have challenges and problems right up until the end of this mission,” he said. “(But) in the larger picture... we are moving into a new phase.

“We can see an increasingly confident Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police Force able to carry out more operations on their own, and able to respond to more incidents on their own.”

The Coalition has been coming under pressure to follow the example of US President Barack Obama, who announced last month that the 10,000 troops deployed as part of the so-called “surge” strategy would be coming home by the end of this year, and another 23,000 during 2012.

Some 450 mainly auxiliary British personnel are scheduled to be withdrawn in the coming months and Mr Cameron is expected to tell the Commons tomorrow that a further 500 will be removed.

But the Prime Minister played down the prospects of a significant pull-out soon, saying any reductions would be “modest”.

However, he restated his determination to have UK forces off the front line within four years.

“I have always been clear that the end of 2014 is a deadline. We will not be here in large numbers or in a combat role,” he said.

“If what we are doing was not working by then, you would have some serious questions to ask.”

He added that the decision to make the pull-out date public had been “a matter of judgement”.

“It is my judgment that it is right for the British public to know, for the Afghan public to know, for the Afghan and the British military to know, that there is an end point to this. An end point after which we will still be training, still helping, but we won’t be in a combat role.”