Miliband warns of 'forgotten war'
The war in Afghanistan is in danger of becoming the "forgotten war" as the Western world's attention turns to events in Libya and the Middle East, David Miliband has warned.
The former foreign secretary has said more effort is needed to find a political solution before British and coalition forces are withdrawn in 2014.
Miliband stressed the importance of negotiations with the Taliban, and even the possibility of offering concessions to get them to the negotiating table, in an effort to secure Afghanistan's future.
The Labour MP will today travel to the US where he will later make a speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston on the need for a political settlement in Afghanistan.
Ahead of the speech, he said: "The epochal events in the Middle East this year have redefined foreign policy.
"There are new priorities and challenges that need intensive Western engagement. But it is imperative that the war in Afghanistan does not become the 'forgotten war', as happened with such dangerous consequences after 2002."
Miliband will spend the following week as a fellow in residence at MIT, where he previously studied for a master's degree.
Foreign secretary William Hague will attend a meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Qatar, with the Qatari prime minister Hamid Bin Jabr.
Appearing on Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Hague said the UK will "follow it through to success" in Libya.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley faces a confidence vote from nurses at the Royal College of Nursing conference in Liverpool.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is launching a new national arts campaign headed by the Art Fund.
And a report from the Commons foreign affairs select committee says the BBC's World Service should be protected from spending cuts to preserve its global reputation.
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