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Journalism of Courage
Al-Qaeda is 8220;on the back foot8221; due to the combined efforts of US-led forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistani army,British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was to say on Monday,his office said.
But in a speech strongly defending Britain8217;s military involvement in Afghanistan,Brown was to concede that Osama bin Laden8217;s network remains the biggest threat to Britain8217;s national security.
8220;Vigilance in defence of national security will never be sacrificed to expediency8230; The greater international good will never be subordinated to the mood of the passing moment,8221; he was to say,according to pre-released extracts.
8220;So I vigorously defend our action in Afghanistan and Pakistan because Al-Qaeda is today the biggest source of threat to our national security 8212; and to the security of people8217;s lives in Britain.
8220;And tonight I can report that more has been planned and enacted with greater success in this one year to disable Al-Qaeda than in any year since the original invasion in 2001.
8220;We are in Afghanistan because we judge that if the Taliban regained power Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would once more have an environment in which they could operate.8221;
The prime minister8217;s spokesman told journalists that Brown would point to the fact that Al-Qaeda,which once operated from within Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban,has been pushed into the border area with Pakistan.
