A biography for Bob Ainsworthhasn’t been written yet.
“We have tended in politics in this country to concentrate on the domestic, on the here and now - the 'what's in it for me'.”
“We in the West walked away from Afghanistan at the end of the Cold War and left it as a country devastated socially and armed to the teeth. If we do that again, there will be consequences.”
“The war in Afghanistan is too important to be reduced to a political football. We are fighting there to protect our national security. We are confronting the Taliban-led insurgency to prevent terrorists returning to that country.”
“On the back benches, you can have your say but no power to do anything.”
“It's true that people were told facial hair was not appreciated by the British public, but I just decided to keep the moustache.”
“The reasoning for our civil-military plan is that lasting success will be when the Afghan government, security forces and people can resist the insurgents and terrorists themselves.”
“We need a leader able to project his or her personality and present our policies in today's media environment. All this is true - but we also need a leader capable of building a team, inspiring loyalty from colleagues, and one genuinely open to ideas.”
“The last thing we want to do is to go into an area and inflict unnecessary civilian casualties. One is too many.”
“We are not in Afghanistan because girls were not allowed to go to school, but helping them do so will give the Afghan people hope for a better future.”
“You have to make the compromise: resign, stay out of the government, and you can say what you like... but no one has to do anything about it.”