PM address to the troops

December 2004

Across the world, more than 50,000 of you are on duty this Christmas. From Afghanistan to the Balkans, from Ethiopia to Iraq, from the Falklands to Sierra Leone, and across the oceans. You will be far away from home and family, but not far away from our thoughts. There is tremendous pride in this country at what you are doing and the courage, professionalism and commitment that our Armed Forces display every day.

There are no finer forces in the world, and none with a higher reputation. In Iraq, our forces are making a real contribution to the creation of a democratic country. I'm constantly struck by the number of Iraqis I meet who have the highest praise for what British troops are doing. 2005 is the year when the Iraqi people will have the chance to decide their own future. The Iraqi Electoral Commission and the Iraqi Interim Government are determined, and are on track, to hold the first democratic election for decades at the end of January. Of course, as events showed at the weekend, we have to steel ourselves for violence to get worse as the insurgents and terrorists make a desperate effort to derail this process. But the Iraqi people want elections and they want to take charge of their own future. January's elections will be a significant step towards that goal. And I know that the determination of the Iraqis will be matched by the commitment of our forces who will help the Iraqi Government deal with the violence, train up their new forces and therefore help build the new Iraq.

I want to thank all those forces, those still in Iraq and those who have just returned, for all your efforts to help improve security and the daily lives of Iraqi men and women and of course those who have lost
their lives, or been injured, and their families and their friends are in our thoughts at this time. Thechallenges in Iraq of course are immensely difficult, but over the last year in Afghanistan we have seen what can be achieved through the combination of a desire of people for freedom, the professionalism of our forces and the right amount of international will. We have witnessed the first ever free elections in Afghanistan where women have voted for the first time, something which would have been unthinkable a few years ago, and again our forces have made, and are making, a vital contribution.

I am also keenly aware that for our forces the past year has been a period of great uncertainty. Change is always unsettling. All institutions, private or public, need to be ready to change and adapt themselves constantly to meet new challenges. This is the same for the Armed Forces. We cannot afford to stand still against new and determined threats to our security. Very few of our regiments and corps exist today in the same form that existed in the past. There has been a constant process of change andregeneration over the past 150 years and the recent structuring now being talked about is designed not just to give our country more effective Armed Forces, but also I hope to offerbetter career development and a more stable family life. The restructure of the Army announced last week as part of this process, wasbased on proposals from your Commanders, and is against the background of a rising, not falling, Defence Budget. I believe it strikes a sensitive balance between delivering the changes necessary for meeting the different types of challenges and threats of the 21st century, and on the other handpreserving the Army's core traditions, which are so important to morale and recruitment.

Can I finish by thanking every one of you for your commitment, often in the most extreme and dangerous conditions, over the past year. I wish you all a Happy Christmas.
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A recent Poll in America has shown that peoples opinions on the war in Iraq have changed considerably. A majority of Americans now believe that the war in Iraq is not worth fighting for...