commitment to the existing strategy, reflected on the bravery and shared sacrifice of united kingdom and united states armed forces in afghanistan, and agreed that the importance of progress on the political track to complement the military effort was essential. is it not time, after nearly 10 years of british deployment in afghanistan, that the whole strategy should be reconsidered? last year, 1,000 afghan people died, and 300 and more british soldiers have lost their lives in afghanistan, as have many from other coalition forces. opinion polls in afghanistan show declining support for western involvement there. if british troops are going to remain there for another five years, how many more are going to die, how much deeper is the civil war going to get and how much deeper are we going to be involved in conflicts in that region? is it not time to say that this strategy has run its course and that it is time, now, to withdraw from afghanistan? my right honorable friend th