David Cameron arrived in Kandahar today to visit troops based in Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister was supposed to visit Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, but had to divert south due to a duststorm.The visit to Afghanistan was a closely guarded secret for security reasons. But instead of meeting thousands of troops on the frontline, he met some of the 400 servicemen based in Kandahar. The trip came as Mr Cameron faced a row over pay and pensions for the Armed Forces.
Today, the Daily Telegraph reported that senior defence chiefs had accused Mr Cameron of breaking the Military Covenant by cutting the pay of the Armed Forces. During the visit, Mr Cameron met the British pilots and groundstaff of the Tornadoes based in Kandahar.Mr Cameron said he was disappointed not to visit Camp Bastion, but said he enjoyed meeting members of the armed forces in Kandahar. “What I’ve experienced today is what people working out here experience all the time: pretty extreme weather, planes can’t land, helicopters can’t take off, plans have to change. There’s no point whingeing about it,” said Mr Cameron.
Poor Mr. Cameron. His speech writers will have to come up with a ‘victory speech’ when the time comes for the troops to leave Afghanistan (just like the Americans in Iraq). A victory speech that noone, including the speaker, will belief…