David Cameron has boldly declared that Britain’s mission will be ‘accomplished’ in Afghanistan by the time troops pull out next year – and that it should never again become a haven for terrorists. Appearing to dismiss fears that Taliban militants will return to wreak havoc, the Prime Minister, making what is set to be his last Christmas visit to British bases in the country, gave a startling upbeat assessment of the troubled country’s prospects 13 years into the conflict. Asked by reporters if the troops come home with ‘mission accomplished’, Mr Cameron said: ‘Yes, I think they do. I think they can come home with their heads held high.’ Scroll down for video . Support: Mr Cameron said when troops leave Afghanistan at the end of next year they will return to Britain with their 'heads held high' Mission: Prime Minister David Cameron, met British soldiers at Camp Bastion, outside Lashkar Gah during his traditional Christmas visit to troops . The Prime Minister insisted that the . main aim of the mission, which has claimed 446 British lives, was to . give the country ‘a basic level of security’ against terrorism, and he . said he was confident this had been achieved. His . remarks risked comparisons with the notorious ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech given by former US president George W Bush about Iraq in May . 2003  after Saddam Hussein’s regime had been overthrown, only for an . insurgency to take hold which claimed thousands of lives. Standing . on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, Mr Bush declared that . ;in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have . prevailed.’ While the . president did not utter the infamous phrase ‘mission accomplished’, he . made the speech against the backdrop of a huge banner bearing the . slogan. Echo: Mr Cameron's remarks drew comparisons with US President George W. Bush's speech aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003, declaring that it was 'mission accomplished' in Iraq . The incident came to . represent the failure of the United States and Britain to adequately . prepare for the initial invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein's . regime. Mr Cameron, by contrast, did concede that allied forces will ‘not leave behind a perfect country or a perfect democracy’. ‘Afghanistan . is an extremely poor country with a very, very troubled history, but . the purpose of our mission is to build Afghan security forces that were . capable of maintaining a basic level of security so this country never . again became a haven for terrorist training camps, and I think the . Afghan security forces are capable,’ he said. 'That . has been the most important part of the mission. Now it's also good . that there are six million children in school, including two million . girls. It's good that Afghanistan now has far better health services . than it ever did ten years ago, it's good that here we are in Helmand . with elected district governors and basic levels of governance and . services that didn't exist before. 'All . these are important but to me, but - and the National Security council . said this very clearly - to me the absolute driving part of the mission . is a basic level of security so that it doesn’t become a haven for . terror. That is the mission. That was the mission and I think we will . have accomplished our mission so our troops can be very proud of what . they have done.' All combat . troops will be pulled out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 – with . numbers serving in the country already reduced from the peak of 9,500 to . round 5,200 by Christmas. Mr . Cameron said the timetable for withdrawal would not change depending on . the security situation, saying ‘we are sticking to that track.’ In June . this year the Afghan National Army and security forces took over . responsibility for security across the country  with British forces in a . supporting and training role. Festive: Mr Cameron joined soldiers for breakfast at Camp Bastion, where the mess was decked out for Christmas . Fry-up: The PM helped himself to bacon and eggs alongside serving soldiers . Michael . Owen let the Prime Minister pull rank when it came to choosing which . bunk bed to sleep in as they flew out to Afghanistan together, the . footballer has revealed. The . pair shared a small cabin on a C-17 military transport plane during the . eight- hour journey from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Camp Bastion. Owen told reporters: 'I obviously let the PM choose first. He chose top. I was quite surprised myself. 'I . couldn't hear anything. I was wondering if he was going to snore but I . couldn't hear anything with the noise up there and obviously you can . hear the pilots all the time. 'So, let's say it wasn't the best of sleeps, but who's to complain? We were in the best place.'Mr Cameron later praised his flight companion: 'Well, he's charming. He's a very nice guy.' He . added that since he took office in 2010, ‘what we've done in that time . is train up a hugely capable Afghan National Army and police force now . numbering almost 350,000 and I think more than capable of providing the . basic level of security that this country needs.’ Military . personnel are concerned that violence may erupt in the weeks running up . to the Afghan elections on April 5 when current president Hamid Karzai . will hand over to a successor for the first time since 2001. Most of the . troops coming home next year will only be pulled out in the summer . after the elections are over. British . military figures admitted that while the Afghan security forces were . performing well and the insurgency had been far weaker this year than in . previous years, militants may still target candidate and election . officials. One military . source said: ‘The campaign here is on track and the Afghans are in a . good place in the short, medium and long term. 'The insurgency will have a . go, they will still be having goes next year at electoral officials but . against the very credible and capable Afghan National Security Force. At the moment the insurgency are just trying to regenerate and . reorganise for the next phase.’ Mr . Cameron also had lunch with troops on the frontline and sent a ‘Bluey’ – . a letter from the Armed Forces postal service -- telling the forces: . ‘You should be proud of what you have achieved here in Afghanistan. ‘It . has been a long road and we have suffered losses but your work is . building an Afghan army and police force that can keep this country safe . and keep our country safe too.’ Flight: Mr Cameron made his visit after travelling on a C-17 military transport plane from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Camp Bastion . Strategy: Mr Cameron was briefed by British army officers at the forward operating base Sterga II at Helmand province in southern Afghanistan . Meeting: Mr Cameron was joined by former England footballer Michael Owen during the trip., where they discussed a match at Wembley between England and Afghanistan . Asked . whether Mr Cameron was seeking to echo former President Bush’s . announcement of the end of major combat  operations in Iraq in front of a . banner reading ‘mission accomplished’, the Prime Minister's official . spokesman pointed out that the words were initially introduced by a . journalist to whose question he was responding. ‘I think it's understandable. He was asked a question, he answered in the way he did,’ said the spokesman. The . spokesman added: ‘The Prime Minister was explaining what the armed . forces have achieved.  Is the situation in Afghanistan a perfect one? As . the Prime Minister himself has said, No. ‘But . has the situation improved significantly in terms of the threat that . the terrorists posed? - because that's the reason we intervened. Yes, it . has and that is as a result of the  achievements of our armed forces.’ David Cameron, left, poses for pictures with former England footballer Michael Owen, 2nd right, and unidentified Afghan Football Association officials and players . The Prime Minister backed a plan for the England football team to play the Afghan national side in a landmark 'peace match' at Wembley Stadium to mark the end of the conflict. He was in Camp Bastion with England legend Michael Owen, who had a kickaround with troops to launch a major new partnership between the FA and the Afghan Premier League. David Cameron said a symbolic football match when troops return home next year was an 'excellent idea'. He said: 'I’m sure that there will be many very dignified national events that should take place...but the idea of one part of it being a football match I think is a very nice idea.' The match is reminiscent of the truce match played between England and Germany during the First World War. They played in No Man's Land at Christmas 1914 and the match between British and Afghan troops is likely to take place around the centenary. Mr Owen said it would be a 'fantastic occasion'. The footballer who retired last season after 14 years in the game, said: 'In the association the Afghan FA have with ours, I think there's the opportunity for them to come over and train at our national centre St Georges Park and  there could be a fully fledged game at Wembley one day - that would be fantastic to mark the occasion. 'They are big into their football and big into the Premier League so I think they would be welcomed. It would a fantastic occasion. I don't know what the politics would be, but it would be great to mark the end of the conflict with a game certainly at Wembley.' He is one of the Football Association's 150 ambassadors. Robert Sullivan, head of corporate affairs at the FA said the match was a 'long term ambition'. Mr Cameron, who watched troops play a team from the Afghan National Army, said: 'I think football has an immense ability to bring people together, bring countries together and as we leave Afghanistan we are not leaving it alone in the world. 'We are going to go on funding its Armed Services, we are going to go on supporting its development. We are going to be helping it have a football league.'
Prime Minister echoes George W Bush during visit to Camp Bastion .
Insists British troops will come home next year with 'heads held high'
Joined Michael Owen to back England vs Afghanistan football match .
David Cameron has boldly declared that Britain’s mission will be ‘accomplished’ in Afghanistan by the time troops pull out next year – and that it should never again become a haven for terrorists. Appearing to dismiss fears that Taliban militants will return to wreak havoc, the Prime Minister, making what is set to be his last Christmas visit to British bases in the country, gave a startling upbeat assessment of the troubled country’s prospects 13 years into the conflict. Asked by reporters if the troops come home with ‘mission accomplished’, Mr Cameron said: ‘Yes, I think they do. I think they can come home with their heads held high.’ Scroll down for video . Support: Mr Cameron said when troops leave Afghanistan at the end of next year they will return to Britain with their 'heads held high' Mission: Prime Minister David Cameron, met British soldiers at Camp Bastion, outside Lashkar Gah during his traditional Christmas visit to troops . The Prime Minister insisted that the . main aim of the mission, which has claimed 446 British lives, was to . give the country ‘a basic level of security’ against terrorism, and he . said he was confident this had been achieved. His . remarks risked comparisons with the notorious ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech given by former US president George W Bush about Iraq in May . 2003 after Saddam Hussein’s regime had been overthrown, only for an . insurgency to take hold which claimed thousands of lives. Standing . on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, Mr Bush declared that . ;in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have . prevailed.’ While the . president did not utter the infamous phrase ‘mission accomplished’, he . made the speech against the backdrop of a huge banner bearing the . slogan. Echo: Mr Cameron's remarks drew comparisons with US President George W. Bush's speech aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003, declaring that it was 'mission accomplished' in Iraq . The incident came to . represent the failure of the United States and Britain to adequately . prepare for the initial invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein's . regime. Mr Cameron, by contrast, did concede that allied forces will ‘not leave behind a perfect country or a perfect democracy’. ‘Afghanistan . is an extremely poor country with a very, very troubled history, but . the purpose of our mission is to build Afghan security forces that were . capable of maintaining a basic level of security so this country never . again became a haven for terrorist training camps, and I think the . Afghan security forces are capable,’ he said. 'That . has been the most important part of the mission. Now it's also good . that there are six million children in school, including two million . girls. It's good that Afghanistan now has far better health services . than it ever did ten years ago, it's good that here we are in Helmand . with elected district governors and basic levels of governance and . services that didn't exist before. 'All . these are important but to me, but - and the National Security council . said this very clearly - to me the absolute driving part of the mission . is a basic level of security so that it doesn’t become a haven for . terror. That is the mission. That was the mission and I think we will . have accomplished our mission so our troops can be very proud of what . they have done.' All combat . troops will be pulled out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 – with . numbers serving in the country already reduced from the peak of 9,500 to . round 5,200 by Christmas. Mr . Cameron said the timetable for withdrawal would not change depending on . the security situation, saying ‘we are sticking to that track.’ In June . this year the Afghan National Army and security forces took over . responsibility for security across the country  with British forces in a . supporting and training role. Festive: Mr Cameron joined soldiers for breakfast at Camp Bastion, where the mess was decked out for Christmas . Fry-up: The PM helped himself to bacon and eggs alongside serving soldiers . Michael . Owen let the Prime Minister pull rank when it came to choosing which . bunk bed to sleep in as they flew out to Afghanistan together, the . footballer has revealed. The . pair shared a small cabin on a C-17 military transport plane during the . eight- hour journey from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Camp Bastion. Owen told reporters: 'I obviously let the PM choose first. He chose top. I was quite surprised myself. 'I . couldn't hear anything. I was wondering if he was going to snore but I . couldn't hear anything with the noise up there and obviously you can . hear the pilots all the time. 'So, let's say it wasn't the best of sleeps, but who's to complain? We were in the best place.'Mr Cameron later praised his flight companion: 'Well, he's charming. He's a very nice guy.' He . added that since he took office in 2010, ‘what we've done in that time . is train up a hugely capable Afghan National Army and police force now . numbering almost 350,000 and I think more than capable of providing the . basic level of security that this country needs.’ Military . personnel are concerned that violence may erupt in the weeks running up . to the Afghan elections on April 5 when current president Hamid Karzai . will hand over to a successor for the first time since 2001. Most of the . troops coming home next year will only be pulled out in the summer . after the elections are over. British . military figures admitted that while the Afghan security forces were . performing well and the insurgency had been far weaker this year than in . previous years, militants may still target candidate and election . officials. One military . source said: ‘The campaign here is on track and the Afghans are in a . good place in the short, medium and long term. 'The insurgency will have a . go, they will still be having goes next year at electoral officials but . against the very credible and capable Afghan National Security Force. At the moment the insurgency are just trying to regenerate and . reorganise for the next phase.’ Mr . Cameron also had lunch with troops on the frontline and sent a ‘Bluey’ – . a letter from the Armed Forces postal service -- telling the forces: . ‘You should be proud of what you have achieved here in Afghanistan. ‘It . has been a long road and we have suffered losses but your work is . building an Afghan army and police force that can keep this country safe . and keep our country safe too.’ Flight: Mr Cameron made his visit after travelling on a C-17 military transport plane from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Camp Bastion . Strategy: Mr Cameron was briefed by British army officers at the forward operating base Sterga II at Helmand province in southern Afghanistan . Meeting: Mr Cameron was joined by former England footballer Michael Owen during the trip., where they discussed a match at Wembley between England and Afghanistan . Asked . whether Mr Cameron was seeking to echo former President Bush’s . announcement of the end of major combat operations in Iraq in front of a . banner reading ‘mission accomplished’, the Prime Minister's official . spokesman pointed out that the words were initially introduced by a . journalist to whose question he was responding. ‘I think it's understandable. He was asked a question, he answered in the way he did,’ said the spokesman. The . spokesman added: ‘The Prime Minister was explaining what the armed . forces have achieved.  Is the situation in Afghanistan a perfect one? As . the Prime Minister himself has said, No. ‘But . has the situation improved significantly in terms of the threat that . the terrorists posed? - because that's the reason we intervened. Yes, it . has and that is as a result of the  achievements of our armed forces.’ David Cameron, left, poses for pictures with former England footballer Michael Owen, 2nd right, and unidentified Afghan Football Association officials and players . The Prime Minister backed a plan for the England football team to play the Afghan national side in a landmark 'peace match' at Wembley Stadium to mark the end of the conflict. He was in Camp Bastion with England legend Michael Owen, who had a kickaround with troops to launch a major new partnership between the FA and the Afghan Premier League. David Cameron said a symbolic football match when troops return home next year was an 'excellent idea'. He said: 'I’m sure that there will be many very dignified national events that should take place...but the idea of one part of it being a football match I think is a very nice idea.' The match is reminiscent of the truce match played between England and Germany during the First World War. They played in No Man's Land at Christmas 1914 and the match between British and Afghan troops is likely to take place around the centenary. Mr Owen said it would be a 'fantastic occasion'. The footballer who retired last season after 14 years in the game, said: 'In the association the Afghan FA have with ours, I think there's the opportunity for them to come over and train at our national centre St Georges Park and there could be a fully fledged game at Wembley one day - that would be fantastic to mark the occasion. 'They are big into their football and big into the Premier League so I think they would be welcomed. It would a fantastic occasion. I don't know what the politics would be, but it would be great to mark the end of the conflict with a game certainly at Wembley.' He is one of the Football Association's 150 ambassadors. Robert Sullivan, head of corporate affairs at the FA said the match was a 'long term ambition'. Mr Cameron, who watched troops play a team from the Afghan National Army, said: 'I think football has an immense ability to bring people together, bring countries together and as we leave Afghanistan we are not leaving it alone in the world. 'We are going to go on funding its Armed Services, we are going to go on supporting its development. We are going to be helping it have a football league.'
will return to wreak havoc, the Prime Minister, return to Britain with their 'heads held high' president George W Bush about Iraq in May . 2003 Oxfordshire to Camp Bastion . Strategy: Mr Michael Owen during the trip., where they troops return home next year was an 'excellent