Speech
Transfer of Authority Stage 3 Ceremony

Lt. Gen. Richards
COMISAF

LMr Vice President, Gen Eikenberry, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. As the ISAF Commander it is a great privilege for me to be here today as NATO / ISAF, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and our partners take this historic step in the process of securing the future of this great country.

I begin by thanking the many people and organisations who have worked so hard, and given so much, to bring Afghanistan to this point. This opportunity for ISAF to step forward and assume responsibility for providing security assistance to the Government in the south of Afghanistan has been made possible by the combined efforts and sacrifices over the last four and a half years of many people, to whom I now pay tribute: the Coalition Forces today under command of Lt Gen Karl Eikenberry to whom I would like to pay special tribute both as a friend and as a mentor, the Afghan National Army and Police, the institutions of the Government of Afghanistan, the regional and local authorities and the multitude of NGOs and development organisations, both Afghan and international, and the people of Afghanistan, who have suffered so much. NATO / ISAF is committed to building on this legacy and taking it forward in partnership with many of those same organisations, the Government of Afghanistan and the International Community.

Key to the progression of this work is a seamless transition of military operations, from the Coalition to ISAF. Mr Vice President, let me assure you that there will be no dip in activity or capability as NATO takes over this mission in the south. To ensure this, NATO nations have already significantly increased the number of troops available t in the southern provinces. We will build on the vital partnership between the international military and the Afghan National Security Forces, who are the future of the security of Afghanistan. I re-iterate the complete commitment of NATO and its partners in ISAF, to ensuring that Afghanistan and the Afghan people are allowed to flourish in a peaceful, prosperous Islamic democracy. We will not leave until the Afghan people tell us that our job is complete. We recognise that much remains to be done, and we do not underestimate the significant task to which we have committed ourselves.

NATO is thoroughly committed to the Government of Afghanistan's plan for moving forward. Wedded to the Afghan National Development Strategy, that plan is based on the provision of security in order to generate the conditions for more rapid construction, reconstruction and development, and further foreign investment. It is absolutely vital that this strategy addresses the needs of the Afghan people at all levels; it must have their buy-in and support. We all have a part to play: the Government to direct and coordinate; the security forces to provide protection for the development agencies and the people; the International Community and development agencies to provide the resources, stimuli and infrastructure to enable growth and economic advancement; and the people of Afghanistan to provide the bedrock of support on which the whole is founded. As we sadly all know too well,there are malign forces dedicated to defeating these efforts and to perpetuating a cycle of oppression, murder and poverty. If we are to deliver success, which we will, it will be necessary to concentrate our combined efforts (security, development and governance in particular), on well-defined areas within the provinces. These will be areas in which we can provide the conditions for secure development and growth and which will, once established, naturally spread outwards to cover more and more ground as people see that they hold the key to the improvements that they all seek and so richly deserve.

ISAF's part in this process is to provide the security within which development can take place. This will be done in very close concert with our comrades in the Afghan National Security Forces and the local authorities. Whilst ISAF's focus will be on provision of security through interaction with local people, and the presence of troops on the ground, we will retain the capability and will to strike ruthlessly at the enemies of Afghanistan when required.

Building on the outstanding legacy bequeathed us by the nations of the US led Coalition, whom today we all salute, I am convinced that through an ever increasing unity of approach and effort between the Government of Afghanistan, the International Community, and the brave and steadfast people of Afghanistan, this strategy will work. This transfer of authority today is a significant step on the road to this goal.

Finally, I stand here today as the military representative of the most powerful military alliance in the world, an alliance joined here in Afghanistan by 10 other important and highly influential nations. All of these nations' efforts will continue to be underpinned by the might of the Unites States, which (as you have heard from Gen Eikenberry) will retain the biggest role within an expanding NATO / ISAF mission. I hope and believe that the huge significance of this renewed international commitment to the people of this country will not be lost on the majority who yearn for the peace, stability and increasing prosperity we came here to help deliver. These millions of people should be reassured that they will not be let down. At the same time, those few thousand who oppose the vast majority of the Afghan people, and their democratically elected government, should note this historic day and understand that they will not be allowed to succeed.

Thank you.

Contact Information:
ISAF Public Information Office
+93 (0) 799-51-1155
pressoffice@isaf-hq.nato.int