Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Defence

Does the Secretary of State not understand that the theme throughout this debate—the underlying vein—is Afghanistan? The Afghanistan operation is notionally an article 5 operation of NATO, which requires and implies that there will be solidarity—that other people will step up to the plate. That is precisely what is not happening. NATO is threatened by the mismanagement of the policy as regards Afghanistan. It blows away article 5, which is the cornerstone of the NATO treaty and has endured for 60 or 70 years.