Another two British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan while trying to rescue a colleague.
The soldiers, from the Royal Dragoon Guards and the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, were killed by a small arms fire in Lashkar Gah District in Helmand. The deaths take the total of service personnel killed in this war to 324.
It should concern us all that these soldiers were killed in Lashkar Gah as it is the centre of our armed forces presence in Helmand and a place which has regularly been reported as 'secure'. The area is considered so safe that it is used as a visiting base for VIPs.
After this incident I doubt if it will see the likes of David Cameron or Liam Fox for some time. Much to the military's relief I'm sure. David Cameron, in his desperation to be admired by Americans, said yesterday that we may start withdrawing our troops as early as next year. Another change of policy which may well come to nothing and could give false hope to our armed forces and their families. However, here in the UK the deputy PM issued a more telling comment: "We do not wish to see British troops in a combat role in Afghanistan by 2015." By the sound of it there will be no total withdrawal and our soldiers may have the means to protect themselves removed if their status is reduced to non-combative. The Taliban must be absolutely delighted.
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13 comments:
The reason the troops are there is because the Taliban stopped production of Opium
They used to burn crops...
meaning that the people who used to buy those crops got upset.
As with anything else you follow the money
Why else would we have been there for 9 years? For what purpose? For a dry dusty country with nothing but opium poppies and pomegranates?
Its the same reason troops used to be posted in the Khyber pass during the days of the Raj
Look up the opium wars and you get who is behind the buying of the crop
Honestly it stinks
Bring on a republic
SR; "small arms fire"?
Bearing in mind that our Ministries and Agencies do speak with forked tongues "always no matter the administration".
I'll bet that "small arms fire" includes high powered sniping rounds. Which, if you bear in mind what was being commented upon over a year ago by US Marines suspecting the opposition was getting professional insurgency training, means the body count will continue to accelerate.
Are we governed by traitors?
That is the question we all need to ask now.
Aye Anthony, I did a post not so long ago about the opium. Of course it's not only about that, it's about oil pipelines and minerals.
Stink? It does indeed.
Incoming. I'd be afraid to ask the question because I'd be afraid of the answer.
Just who are the Taleban anyway? Anybody who fights the occupation forces it seems. A comfortable unthinking label for domestic consumption. Are a number of Afghans, ranging in age from 12 to 70, armed who hate foreign occupation and the puppet governemnt imposed upon them ever killed by NATO forces? No, our media mindlessly drivel on that 'insurgents' or 'Taleban forces' were killed.
Oh well, that's all right then. That makes them all the beheading, child-hanging same then doesn't it?
There's something else that stinks.
Like you, I've often wondered about who are the Taliban. Do they have ID cards or some form of membership registration such as a tattoo or whatever.
13th Century Liam Fox , our Defence Secretary, has just admitted that the UK can no longer afford to defend itself from all known threats to the country..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/7905649/Britain-no-longer-has-the-cash-to-defend-itself-from-every-threat-says-Liam-Fox.html
Since the main role of government is to defend its people from death due to war or terrorism then I think we need to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan immediately.
Then we should withdraw from the EU.
Then we should stop stop all imigration from 3rd world countries such as Malawi.
Abandon the waste of money on 'green projects' like windmills.
Scrap the BBC.
Scrap all funding to free drugs like methadone.
Scrap all overseas aid to countries like Singapore, Russia and China
I've estimated that this would save us about £200Bn
More than enough to man every port of entry into the UK and to stop and search every muslim entering the country.
We certainly need better supervision of our borders RM. It was a tory government which greatly reduced the Customs staff back in the 70s and thus allowed control to be so reduced. It has never been replaced.
If we are under so much threat, wouldn't it be much better to use our military to monitor our borders? Many are highly trained in surveillance and would be exceptionally thorough and get the job done.
You're right. Our own islands need protecting long before we 'help' foreign countries who don't want our help.
Afghanistan is becoming another disaster. The oil pipeline is why the seeker of truth the USA wanted to be there I believe.
Like good little dogs we followed our master wagging our little tails.
We'll retreat bloodied with our tails between our legs.
It's so decent of you to keep up this vigil subrosa.
I am a friend of Rose Gentle on Facebook - honestly, some of the comments left on her Facebook Wall page by bereft friends and family is almost beyond endurance - it's heartbreakingto read.
all the best
ps
Our supposed enemies in Afghanistan today, the Taliban and their pals in Al Quaeda, used to be very fashionable and popular in the US once upon a time.
For instance, one of my favourite action movies, Rambo III, is set in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and is dedicated to the 'freedom fighters' of the Mujihadeen. See creidts at the end of the film.
Indeed, President of the USA Ronald Reagan said in a Whitehouse Press conference in 1985 about visitng Afghan Mujihadeen (ie Al Quaeda, the Taliban) "These men are the moral equivalent of the founding fathers."
Here is the late great Ahmed Iqbal in 1998 on the matter -
'In 1985, President Ronald Reagan received a group of bearded men. These bearded men I was writing about in those days in The New Yorker, actually did [look menacing]. They were very ferocious-looking bearded men with turbans looking like they came from another century. President Reagan received them in the White House. After receiving them he spoke to the press. He pointed towards them, I’m sure some of you will recall that moment, and said, “These are the moral equivalent of America’s founding fathers”. These were the Afghan Mujahiddin. They were at the time, guns in hand, battling the Evil Empire. They were the moral equivalent of our founding fathers!'
Terrorism: Theirs and Ours
President Ronald Reagan's Proclamation of Afghanistan Day 10th March, 1982 -
Proclamation 4908
Afghanistan Day will serve to recall not only these events, but also the principles involved when a people struggles for the freedom to determine its own future, the right to be free of foreign interference and the right to practice religion according to the dictates of conscience.
It's been a disaster for years Strathturret. I think we helped install the main pipeline around 2 years ago and since then the whole 'strategy' is non-existent.
We will indeed. Sadly.
Thank you Joe. I too read Rose's Facebook. This is the least I can do because it's so easy for us in civvie street to forget a rather important part of our society.
Great links Joe. Definitely will be kept for research use. Thanks.
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