Tuesday 2 March 2010

Afghanistan




The Ministry of Defence has reported that a soldier from A Company 4 RIFLES, part of the 3 RIFLES Battle Group, was killed yesterday morning.

He died as a result of small arms fire near Sangin, in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was on a foot patrol about 700 metres east of Patrol Base Blenheim, to the north east of Sangin District Centre.

The patrol he was on was part of ongoing operations by the 3 RIFLES Battle Group to expand the area of security around the District Centre, when he was shot and killed.

I take no pleasure from reporting the deaths of our military but I think it is essential that each is recorded. Each life lost in the name of Britain also means many other lives being changed forever. Families and friends will never forget their loved ones, they will have to live with their grief and the belief that no life was lost in vain.

267 lives have now been lost in the Afghanistan war.

4 comments:

Sir Henry Morgan said...

And all a complete waste of lives. If all foreign armies left afganistan today, the place would be in a year exactly what it was a year before we went there.

If we stay a hundred years - losing five people a week for all that time - then leave, in 101 years it will be back to what it was a year before we went there.

2500 years ago they killed a king of Persia; over 2000 years ago they fought Alexander the Great to a standstill; in the 19th century they hammered the British Empire at the height of its power (twice); Early 20th century they beat us again; late 20th century they defeated the might of the Soviet Union. What the hell makes our politicians think we can beat them?

What a waste of our young folks' lives (and our money).

Why? There must be more to this than we're told.

To impose "democracy" when we're losing that very thing in our own country? I think not - and anyway, democracy has to grow from the bottom up not the top down, otherwise it will last only as long as we are there losing lives. To liberate the women? I think not because that "liberation" will last - again - only as long as we remain there losing lives.

Bring our armies home now.

subrosa said...

Henry, it involves so many things; oil, minerals are just two.

It's nothing to do with liberating women and I'm sure you know that.

It will return once we leave and very quickly as you say. A shocking loss of life for many, both military and civilian.

These IEDs will be in the soil of Afghanistan to blow up civilians for many years. No military will every find every one of them.

Yes bring our forces home.

Crinkly & Ragged Arsed Philosophers said...

What's the point of trying to install our version of democracy in any country when our own version hasn't the democratic capability to prevent such an intrusion?

subrosa said...

Exactly RA, exactly. We're not without corruption.

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