London: Britain defended on Friday its decision to launch a military raid to rescue a Western journalist in Afghanistan, dismissing calls for an official enquiry amid growing anger over the deadly operation.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said New York Times (NYT) reporter Stephen Farrell had ignored "very strong" advice not to travel to the northern Afghan region where he was seized last weekend with an Afghan colleague.
"This was an operation that only took place because we thought there was no better alternative and it only took place after very considered military judgement that it was a mission with the possibility of success," he said.
Farrell "was obviously on the one hand very brave and on the other hand went against very strong advice that it was extremely dangerous to be in that area," he told the BBC.
Farrell, who has dual British-Irish nationality, was freed unharmed, but his Afghan colleague, father-of-two Sultan Munadi, plus a British soldier and an Afghan woman and child were killed.
The decision to approve the raid was taken by Miliband and Britain's Defence Secretary Bob Elsworth, after a meeting of the British government's COBRA crisis cell, and following consultations with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Miliband rebuffed calls for an enquiry into the decision to order the raid.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, September 11, 2009, 19:21