Why Are We in Afghanistan? The Great Debate

Stop the War Coalition has issued a challenge to all the three main political parties to participate in a series of debates across the country which will ask the following question:

Why are British armed forces continuing to fight in Afghanistan, the world's second poorest country, after eight years of war and with escalating casualty figures?

Opinion polls show consistently that two thirds of the British public believe the war is unwinnable and want all UK troops brought home.

The Labour government, Conservative opposition and Liberal Democratic party all continue to argue that the war serves Britain's vital interests and that it is why -- in Gordon Brown's words -- "we cannot, must not and will not walk away".

Stop the War is organising a series of open debates across the country where a panel comprising supporters and opponents of the war will be able to make the case for and against Britain's involvement in the Afghan war, before an audience which will include soldiers, ex-soldiers and military families.

A number of MPs, academics, writers and experts on Afghanistan have indicated that they are prepared to present the case against the war.

Stop the War challenges the three mainstream parties to nominate representatives to present the case for maintaining Britain's involvement in the war.

Taking the country into war is the most difficult decision a government can make. Stop the War believes that when the three main political parties insist on continuing to fight a war that has lost the support of the majority of people in this country, they must have the courage to present the arguments for doing so in an open forum where they can be heard and responded to directly by the British public.